A Colourful Death by Carola Dunn

Many of you know I loved the time I lived in Cornwall, so reading Carola Dunn's A Colourful Death was like walking through familiar surroundings. Set in the 1960s Eleanor Trewynn lives in a Cornish village - she even drives the same car I did at the time, A Morris Minor.

From the cover:

Eleanor Trewynn is a recently retired widow who has moved to the small village of Port Mabyn in Cornwall. . .  Her friend and neighbor, artist Nick Gresham returns to Port Mabyn from a trip to London to find several of his paintings slashed, likely by rival local artist Geoffrey Monmouth. When Nick goes to have it out with him, with Eleanor in tow, they find Monmouth's body in the studio. . . Once Eleanor starts doing a little investigating on her own, she learns that Nick is far from the only one with a compelling motive for murder.