Payment in Blood

When Joy Sinclair, a noted and controversial playwright, is found stabbed to death in a locked room at a remote estate in the Scottish Highlands, Inspector Lynley and his irascible partner, Havers, are called to investigate.^[3] The situation is further complicated by the list of high-profile suspects, which include a leading actress, a famous theatre producer, a director and Lady Helen Clyde, Lynley's old friend, with whom the Inspector is in love.^[4]

The novel was generally well-received,^[2] being described by Kirkus Reviews as: "Not quite as dazzling as its predecessor ...but still complex, rich, and accomplished enough to elbow the author between P.D. James and Ruth Rendell to form the new triumvirate of English psychological suspense."^[4]

A German translation by Mechtild Sandberg-Ciletti was published first by Blanvalet in 1991 under the title Keiner werfe den ersten Stein.^[5] It was subsequently also published in paperback form by Goldmann.^[6]