Aspire to Die: An Oxford Murder Mystery (Bridget Hart)

From the Publisher, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart is called to investigate the death of a beautiful, wealthy student found in her room at Oxford's most prestigious college. The murdered girl appeared to have no enemies, yet was killed in a brutal and bloody attack. Newly promoted and haunted by her own personal tragedy, DI Bridget Hart has a lot to prove as she leads her first murder case. Her investigation uncovers a tangled web of lies, lust and ambition, and brings her into conflict with powerful interests.

No one can be above suspicion within the closed and claustrophobic confines of an Oxford college, where students and academics live and work side by side, and a ruthless killer waits to strike again. When reclusive artist, Gabriel Quinn, is gunned down outside a gallery on Oxford High Street, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart investigates the world of contemporary art, where paintings can change hands for millions in the auction room. Bridget is convinced that the last words spoken by the artist – a mysterious code of 8 digits and a letter – are key to unravelling the mystery of his death.

But when her ex-husband, Ben, now a senior detective with the Metropolitan Police in London shows up with new information about the murdered man, Bridget's personal and professional lives are brought crashing together with dramatic consequences. When Detective Inspector Bridget Hart returns to her old Oxford college for a reunion dinner, she's hoping for a fun weekend catching up with old friends. But the reunion takes a macabre turn when body parts are served up at the college feast, and one of her friends is found murdered.

With Bridget's arch rival Inspector Baxter leading the murder enquiry, and herself a potential suspect, Bridget is forbidden from taking part in the investigation. But that doesn't stop her from carrying out her own private enquiries. Bridget soon realises that the murderer is someone known to her. And as the weekend continues and more bodies are found, it becomes clear that they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Can Bridget uncover the dark secrets of the past in time to halt the killer, or will she be next on the murderer's list?

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