The Painted Lady — David Ashton

A dead judge's wife is suspected of poisoning him and the Haymarket police think they have a foolproof case. They have undisclosed evidence she has been having an affair with a society artist plus the fact that a quantity of arsenic has been found in the judge's body. She appeals for help to McLevy though the case is not in his parish; there is an ambivalent quality to her, an elusive attraction that the Inspector can't resist. Nor can Leith's finest avoid the temptation of getting one over his Haymarket colleagues. In a world of corruption, drugs and unfaithfulness who is to be believed? McLevy finds the answer but will justice be done?