The Sixth Witness – Paperback

When insurance investigator Mara Venn arrives at the rain-lashed Bellweather Hotel to audit a disputed repair invoice, she expects nothing more than missing receipts and reluctant answers. Instead, before the first night is over, hotel proprietor Adrian Bell is discovered dead on his office floor, his skull fractured beside a heavy bronze ferry bell.
At first glance, the timeline of the murder seems impossible. Over thirty crucial minutes, five different people passed the office door: the housekeeper delivered coffee; the manager heard drawers opening; the sister and the contractor saw a familiar dark silhouette working under the desk lamp; and a young woman seeking long-buried family truths was turned away in the hall. Finally, the hotel’s respected solicitor swore under oath that he spoke directly with Adrian at 8:38 PM, leaving him alive and working at his desk.
Every testimony appears to support the others. But as Mara examines the crime scene alongside Inspector Naylor, she notices a fatal flaw in the killer’s alibi: from the threshold of the doorway, a freshly installed privacy screen made it physically impossible to see the desk tray the solicitor described.
The figure behind the ribbed glass was never a living man-it was an empty coat draped over a chair. The sounds in the dark were not an owner at work. And the sixth witness was never confirming an alibi; he was manufacturing time to cover his escape with stolen funds and a forged signature.
A taut, atmospheric closed-room whodunit filled with forensic precision, deceptive perspectives, and sharp deducible clues, The Sixth Witness launches a gripping traditional mystery series where the deadliest lies are built from honest mistakes.