When the police found Thomas Porteous tied to a chair in his home by the English seaside, teenager Diana Quigly was standing beside him with a knife in her hand; she was arrested and sent to jail for 2 ½ years. Ten years later, Thomas Porteous is dead at 70, and 27 year-old Di Quigly is the sole inheritor of his estate.

While she was in jail, Di read a lot and got an education. When she got out, she went to see Thomas, who surprisingly offered her a position as housekeeper. Thomas Porteous was an art collector and inventor, and had quite a bit of money. Thomas noticed Diana had the eye of an art collector, and took her under his wing. She had a rough childhood; her mother is dead and her mostly absent father is violent, abusive, and decidedly not the most honest of men. Thomas, a widower, has been estranged from his daughters since his first wife divorced him. She never forgave him for getting rich afterwards. Christina Porteous made sure their daughters thought the worst of their father, even spreading rumours that he was not so innocent in his love of children. To everybody's bewilderment--and his daughters' ire--Thomas asked Di to marry him, and they were truly, blissfully happy.

Then Thomas became ill with cancer. Di cared for him at home as he requested, but still his daughters shunned him. Only his young grandson, Patrick, came to visit in secret. Di wants to pursue Thomas's wish of turning the grand house into a museum, but her late husband's children care only about the money and revenge. Suspected of foul play, Di is arrested but quickly released, though all eyes remain on her. Along the years with Thomas, Di has acquired a small motley crew of devoted friends whose time has come to help her.

GOLD DIGGER is a truly British psychological mystery, with a tightly woven plot, a somewhat gothic atmosphere, and colourful characters with wonderfully distinctive voices. Everyone has skeletons in their closets, things are never quite as they appear, and the ending holds a few surprises. Ms. Fyfield is a splendid writer and I highly recommend this fine suspense.