Portrait of Deceit (The Moorland Shadows #8)

Portrait of Deceit (The Moorland Shadows #8) by Wendy Cartmell is out now, published May 29, 2026.

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Portrait of Deceit (The Moorland Shadows #8)
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Portrait of Deceit (The Moorland Shadows #8) Release Date: May 29, 2026

Published

A lost masterpiece. A murdered expert. A family secret hidden for eighty years.

The new Rowan Penhallow mystery. Perfect for readers who like their country houses with a body in the studio and the best detective dog in Devon, Buddy the Jack Russell, on the case.

When a priceless Gainsborough portrait vanishes from a Devon manor house gala, DI Rowan Penhallow finds herself drawn into a world of gilded frames and quiet desperation — where old money hides older secrets, and the most dangerous lies are the ones a family tells itself.

Brackwell Manor has been haemorrhaging money for years. The sudden discovery of Lady in Blue in the attic — a lost masterpiece that could save the estate — seems like providence. But when the painting disappears on the night of its unveiling, and a meticulous German art restorer is found murdered in the manor’s conservation studio days later by Buddy, Rowan begins to suspect that the Brackwells’ salvation was never quite what it appeared.

Portrait of Deceit is the eighth DI Rowan Penhallow mystery — a richly atmospheric tale of art, identity, and the terrible cost of a lie that has outlived everyone who first told it.

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Genre: Mystery

Wendy Cartmell

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