When a well-known detective novelist runs a weekend course for wannabe writers at her cliff-top home in the Marlborough Sounds, the 'theory' of murder is on the agenda. But when a real dead body arrives in her cable car, things turn serious. Can Duggan separate 'fact' from 'fiction' before flattery completely clouds Constable Peach's judgement?

Life is good for the newly re-married Joanne Taylor. She runs a successful diving business in the Marlborough Sounds with her new husband, Michael, whom she adores, and her business partner Fraser, whom she trusts. But her new found happiness is shattered when her daughter mysteriously disappears, and the ransom notes begin to arrive?

A beachside camping ground attracts a lot of visitors, especially trim and tanned young tourists from Eastern Europe. How convenient then, that the Manager has his workshop located right next to the shower block, to provide the setting for a murder reminiscent of the famous Psycho scene?

A beachside camping ground attracts a lot of visitors, especially trim and tanned young tourists from Eastern Europe. How convenient then, that the Manager has his workshop located right next to the shower block, to provide the setting for a murder reminiscent of the famous Psycho scene?

Did he fall or was he pushed? When a popular student doesn't disembark from the Interislander ferry with the rest of his sports team, Duggan enlists Peach's help in going 'back to school' to uncover the reason behind the young man's disappearance. Suicide? Or Murder?