London: Orion, (1994). Hardcover first edition - Canadian-born author's first novel and first mystery, introducing Laura Principal who has left an academic life at Cambridge University for a career as an investigator. Ian Rankin called Prinicpal "one of contemporary crime fiction's most intriguing and satisfying sleuths." Like her protaganist, Spring lived and worked as an academic in Cambridge, so she knows the area well. Short-listed as Best First Novel for both an Anthony and an Arthur Ellis Award. 210 pp. ISBN: 1-857972414.