The 6th Annual Beltie Mystery Prize is afoot! Pete Mock has eight killer reads for you, curated from the 2022’s best mystery, thriller, procedural, and true crime releases. In alphabetical order by author, the sixth up is:

Phillip Miller’s The Goldenacre

“Art is in the eye of the beholder, especially when you’re an inspector of provenance working for the British government. Which is what Thomas Tallis is when he is sent to Edinburgh to assess a painting that has been in the hands of one family since the 20’s. But when he finds the family unwilling to allow him to inspect the painting on his term and then threats start arriving at his desk it gets him to thinking. Then a local reporter tenuously ties two murders, a local artist and a city councilor, to the family. But it’s only when his boss tells him to back off that he begins to seriously wonder what is going on and redoubles his efforts to see the painting and complete his report in spite of the dangers he is facing. This is a gorgeously bleak, wondrously written, story that brings Edinburgh alive in ways that would make Ian Rankin, the king of Edinburgh noir, jealous, and proves once again that sometimes the best travel guide is a good mystery.” – Pete