The Framed Women of Ardemore House: A Novel

American Jo Jones, a slightly autistic divorcee, arrives in England to take possession of Ardemore House, left to her by her recently departed mother. The house has not been lived in for over a century and is in total disrepair. Jo is struck by a painting of an unknown woman that she finds in a locked room.

When the painting is stolen and the longtime caretaker is shot dead in the estate’s cottage, Jo’s autism-nuanced words and actions, although well intentioned, raise the suspicions of both the otherwise sympathetic local inspector and the overbearing, always right outsider brought in to assist the investigation.

Was the painting valuable? Or does it hold a secret? Was the caretaker killed by one of his many female conquests? Or by a blackmail victim? The strands of the story twist and turn in ways that will leave the reader guessing until a previously unmentioned history is brought in to draw the apparently unconnected threads together.

This may be slightly unfair to the armchair sleuth, but even so, The Framed Women of Ardemore House is graced with superbly drawn characters, an intricate plot, and a dramatic conclusion. Definitely recommended for all mystery fans.