The Case of the Imaginary Detective

A young woman's search for the truth about her father's past . . . When Rima Lanisell loses her father to cancer, her godmother Addison's Californian beach house provides a strange and fascinating refuge. Wit's End is a place littered with miniature murder scenes - eerie doll's houses modelled on Addison's world-famous mystery novels. It is also home to a gaggle of misfits. There's Tilda, a New Age former alcoholic; her ne'er-do-well son Martin; and Addison herself, who was once close to Rima's father. And lurking somewhere in their midst is the imaginary detective - Maxwell Lane - who has a spellbinding appeal for his many, obsessive fans. As Rima comes to terms with her grief and tries to understand the relationship between Addison and her father, so she and her new housemates become involved in a mystery of their own . . . Praise for Karen Joy Fowler and The Jane Austen Book Club 'We defy you not to fall head over heels for this lovely novel' Mail on Sunday 'If I could eat this novel, I would.' Alice Sebold