When private detective William Dougal is asked by a young doctor, Graham Hanslope, to investigate a case of blackmail, he suspects - quite rightly - that crucial information is being withheld. Visiting the doctor's country cottage, Dougal finds the small village community seething with suspicions and rivalry.
A local hit-and-run incident, adultery and a spate of burglaries lead inexorably to murder. All the evidence points in one direction, but Dougal, as usual, comes up with another answer, one so bizarre it will be almost impossible to prove...
Read MoreAndrew Taylor is a master story-teller. - Daily TelegraphWell modulated, enjoyable criminous entertainment - GuardianThis simple summary does not do justice to the complexity, nor to the subtlety with which the author portrays his characters . . . this is undoubtedly Andrew Taylor's best book yet - Evening StandardEnjoyable voyeuristic peep at greedy, back-scratching local community - GuardianKeen, quirky, dying-fall entertainment. - The Sunday Times