The Fossil Murder

The town of Brighton is divided by controversy as an exhibition of fossils arrives at the town hall. The star attraction is an Archaeopteryx skeleton, the supposed missing link, but not everyone likes the idea of the fossil being on display, not least the supporters of Reverend Parker and his anti-Darwin campaign.

For Clara Fitzgerald, Brighton's first female private detective, the fossil is a curiosity - until a man is murdered in the act of destroying it and his murderer vanishes into thin air.

Clara becomes involved when the mysterious murder threatens the future of the exhibition. Can she discover who the murder victim was and why someone would want to kill him? Or will an innocent man hang for the crime?

Meanwhile, Tommy Fitzgerald is working as Clara's assistant, to help with the problem of Miss Nellie Holbein - a young lady with too much money and a lot of disreputable suitors. Her latest boyfriend is causing Mrs Wilton a lot of worries and she desperately needs Clara to get rid of the man.

But when Tommy tries to intervene in the affair, he finds himself biting off more than he can chew.