{"product_id":"9780008252748_crackpot","title":"Crackpot","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the opening paragraph of the novel a murderer describes the process of picking up an unknown girl in a club prior to strangling her, and admits to disposing of nine others in similar manner. The murderer then returns to Crestcote House, a gothic mansion which has been turned into a peaceful retreat for ‘artists of recognised stature’.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe community comprises an eccentric composer, a reclusive iron-worker, a beautiful sculptress, a discontented novelist, and three assorted painters, one female, two male. The lord of this remarkable manor is a philanderer, and the place is known locally (and not surprisingly) as Crackpot Castle. No one suspects, however, that one of the denizens is a serial killer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd no one need ever have suspected if the killer had not elected to play a practical joke on fellow residents which led to a spate of lies, an unsuccessful blackmail attempt – and another killing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis time Chief Inspector Tom Pennard is very much on the scene. Under his questioning suspicion flickers like a will-o’-the-wisp from one person to the next, while all the time the murderer, anonymous and supposedly secure, offers the reader a first-hand commentary on the unfolding of events, leading to a dramatic unmasking in the final paragraphs of this cunningly plotted story.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Philip Loraine","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47285322285205,"sku":"9780008252748","price":6.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008252748.jpg?v=1776992073","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008252748_crackpot","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}