Dead Before Morning

Description for DEAD BEFORE MORNING by Geraldine Evans:

The naked body of a teenage girl has been found on the grounds of Elmhurst, a private psychiatric hospital, and with the help of upright Sergeant Dafyd Llewellyn, Rafferty must track down the killer. His task is complicated, however, because the victim's face has been mutilated beyond recognition, and Elmhurst's owner, suave social climber Dr. Melville-Briggs, claims he has no idea who the girl might be.

Between Rafferty's mother's constant matchmaking ambitions, the media's unrelenting attention, and a heated power struggle between snobby Melville-Briggs and working-class Llewellyn, Rafferty's first case since his promotion is not going to be an easy one. His growing dislike of the arrogant doctor quickly turns into an obsessive desire to prove Dr. Melville-Briggs guilty of murder, despite his seemingly solid alibi.

But when the identity of the girl is discovered at last, a host of new suspects emerges, and Rafferty and Llewellyn, in the full glare of the media, must hustle to dissect motives and to uncover the true murderer.

This is #1 in Joseph Rafferty and Sergeant Llewellyn Mystery.