Landscape with Corpse, Roger Ormerod

Publication: London, Constable, 1996 Formatting: 8vo, pp. [viii], 224. Condition Report: Near Fine. This copy is remarkably well-preserved, retaining a tight, square, and seemingly unread feel. The original black cloth boards are sharp and clean, with gleaming lettering and the publisher's device to the spine. The binding remains entirely firm, with perfectly sound hinges. Internally, the pages are exceptionally clean and free of foxing, displaying only the faintest, uniform age-toning to the text block edges. The striking dust jacket is crisp and unclipped, showing the original publisher's retail price, with only the most trivial hints of shelf-wear to the extreme edges. A superb, collector-quality example. Catalogue Note: First edition, first impression. Released under the esteemed 'Constable Crime' imprint, the book is a testament to Ormerod's reputation for crafting traditional, intellectually satisfying detective fiction. The dust jacket, typical of the imprint's literal visual style, features a bold still-life photographic composition of artists' tools, a scalpel, a spray paint can, and a blood-dipped paintbrush, thematically anchoring the mystery within the art world. Unclipped, first-edition copies of Ormerod's works in such crisp condition remain an excellent acquisition for enthusiasts of modern British crime and suspense. In this intricately plotted novel of suspense, the recurring detective duo of Philipa Lowe and Oliver Simpson are drawn into a web of artistic jealousy and misplaced revenge. Following the murder of the artless Elise, a young woman abruptly presents herself to Philipa, confessing to the crime with a strong, albeit misdirected, motive. Convinced that the victim was entirely the wrong target for the confessed killer's revenge, Philipa must look past the obvious to protect her and unmask the true culprit. The key to unravelling the logic lies in a seemingly simple artist's tool: a sketching pastel appropriately known as 'sanguine', the very colour of blood.…