Most attractive detective starts before end of August (8)

I believe the answer is:

dishiest

'most attractive' is the definition.
('dishy' can be similar in meaning to 'attractive')

'detective starts before end of august' is the wordplay.
'detective' becomes 'di' (Detective Inspector abbreviation).
'starts' becomes 'shies' (shy can mean to start or flinch in fear).
'before' says to put letters next to each other.
'end of' suggests the final letters.
The final letter of 'august' is 't'.
'di'+'shies'+'t'='DISHIEST'

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app