Blood Guilt by Lindy Cameron

It's the height of summer and Kit's suffering in a car without air-conditioning, lamenting the sorry state of her love life when she is summoned to the upper-crust Toorak home of Celia Robinson. Celia is a magazine publisher, statue collector and rich wife of a philandering husband. It's the last attribute that she needs Kit's help with. She hires Kit to do a straightforward job of following her husband around town to find out with whom he is cheating. And straightforward the job turns out to be, boring even, right up until the moment that Celia is found dead in her own fountain.

Suddenly Kit is thrown into the middle of a much more dangerous situation because Celia's daughter steps in and asks that Kit now investigate her mother's death. The police are convinced it was an accident but Quinn is convinced that she was murdered and is placing suspicion firmly on her stepfather Geoffrey, a man she already despises.

So when Kit's surveillance job is turned into a possible murder investigation, she finds that her skills learned as a police detective are going to be put to the absolute test. The problem is that through all of this, Kit is plagued by one enduring problem. She is falling hopelessly and helplessly in love with a person she is sure doesn't even like her, or approve of her job. To top it off, the object of her infatuation is engaged to be married.

The strain of unfulfilled sexual frustration is almost too much for her to bear and dominates many scenes of the book, almost to the point of taking over the story. Fortunately, Cameron has employed an engrossing thriller that refuses to be overshadowed by the romantic sideshow.

This is a story that gradually builds in intensity as Kit shadow's the much-despised Geoffrey around Melbourne, attempting to gather enough evidence to prove that he killed his wife. In so doing, it becomes apparent that he is more than simply a philandering husband and that doesn't necessarily mean he is a murderer. The apartments and warehouses he visits and the people he is seen with, not to mention the unusual hours he keeps tells Kit that he's into some sort of major scam.

The trouble is, you can only follow a guy and snoop around his house or apartments without being noticed for so long. Getting closer makes the danger of discovery a much more real possibility. Naturally, Kit, being the thorough detective that she is, she's going to try to find out exactly what it is that Geoffrey and his cronies are up to...and that's when the fun really begins.

Blood Guilt is a lively private investigator thriller that introduces a strong, likable female protagonist who is all the more endearing for the fragile emotions she keeps protected behind her tough, no nonsense veneer. A well-constructed mystery defines the story, backed up by characters with a depth and complexity that bring them fully to life.

Along the way Lindy Cameron springs a few surprises that are nicely hidden until she chooses to reveal them for maximum effect. The lazy humorous tone that opens the book gradually gives way to quiet desperation, echoing the mounting stakes and growing danger. To play merry havoc with the nerves, there's also the ever-present emotional hairball of unrequited love to fall back on in times of quiet contemplation.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable thriller that serves as a solid starting point for the Kit O'Malley series. This first book in the series is followed by 2 more (so far) Kit O'Malley thrillers: Bleeding Hearts and Thicker Than Water.