Uninspired artist Katie’s life in New York, and almost everyone in it, has been about as genuine as a Prada handbag from Chinatown. When it all comes crashing down she flees back to Ireland. There she finds her dormant artistic inspiration unexpectedly reignited in a small rural town.However, it is not the beautiful landscape that has captured her imagination. It is the local men.Katie sets out to create a collection of nude male portraits but before long the story of her project grows a skin as it winds its way in whispers and murmurs around the town. Speculation is rife about what she is offering the men in return for their life-modelling. Assumptions and accusations soon turn Katie’s utopian escape into a minefield.SUSAN LOUGHNANE is an actress, best known in Ireland for playing Debbie in the hugely popular RTƒ series Love/Hate, for which she won the IFTA for Best Supporting Actress in 2013. In the UK, she is known for playing the series regular role of Chloe in Hollyoaks. She is also a portrait artist but, as she has attachment issues with her paintings, it will probably never be a profession. The Art of Scandal is her first novel.