The Library Paradox

It is March, 1896. Motherhood and work as a private detective don't easily go hand-in-hand, but Vanessa is determined to give it a try. Four years have passed since her last major investigation and since then Vanessa's personal life has radically changed; she has married Arthur Weatherburn and now has two delightful little toddlers, Cecily and Cedric. Being a wife and mother has meant that she's had to give up her beloved teaching job, but Vanessa has been kept busy by a string of requests asking for her help in solving troubling cases. It is not often, though, that her investigations involve violent death...When three sombre professors knock on her door, Vanessa knows they have come in search of her help. But when they explain the circumstances surrounding their colleague's murder, she begins to doubt whether her modest capabilities will be enough to solve the mystery. Professor Ralston died after being shot in the library at King's College University, London. Sounds of a violent quarrel were heard by witnesses outside the building moments before the shot.
With the only suspect being an elderly Jewish gentleman who left the building a matter of seconds before the shot was heard, and with witnesses testifying that no one left the building after the shot rang out, it is a perplexing puzzle how the killer could have escaped. Leaving the comforts and pleasures of her home in Cambridge behind for the duration of the enquiry, Vanessa embarks on a journey to London where the grim realities of life threaten to overwhelm her. This is an exquisitely written and devilishly clever murder mystery by the author of "The Three Body Problem" and "Flowers Stained with Moonlight".