The sixtieth birthday party of Silas Kane was marred by argument and dissension amongst his family. And then, the morning after the celebrations, Kane is found dead at the foot of a cliff. The theory that Silas accidentally lost his way in the fog is confirmed when the coroner returns a verdict of death by misadventure. But then, Kane's nephew and heir is murdered, and threats are made on the next in line to the fortune, throwing a new and sinister light on Silas Kane's death. All clues point to an elderly lady of eighty as the killer. But, as the redoubtable Superintendent Hannasyde delves further into the case he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems...

Georgette Heyer's brilliant and highly acclaimed series of detective novels, now in a handsome new package

The sixtieth birthday party of Silas Kane was marred by argument and dissension amongst his family. And then, the morning after the celebrations, Kane is found dead at the foot of a cliff. The theory that Silas accidentally lost his way in the fog is confirmed when the coroner returns a verdict of death by misadventure.

But then Kane?s nephew and heir is murdered and threats are made on the next in line to the fortune, throwing a new and sinister light on Silas Kane?s death. All clues point to an elderly lady of eighty as the killer. But as the redoubtable Superintendent Hannasyde delves further into the case he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems?

'We...had better start ranking Heyer alongside such incomaparable whodunit authors as Christie, Marsh, Tey and Allingham' San Fransico Chronicle

'Rarely have we seen humour and mystery so perfectly blended' New York Times

Crime & Mystery
Arrow Books

2007-03-02 a great mystery - spoiler warnng on the other review.

This is another great Heyer mystery. Timothy Harte is particularly funny as the irrepressible 'helper' of poor long-suffering Sergeant Hemmingway.

But I wish reviewers wouldn't give half the plot away in their enthusiasm to say how great it was. This isn't a book club where we are all discussing what we thought about the novel. People will be reading these reviews in order to decide whether or not to read the novel for the first time - sorry to state the obvious here. The point of a mystery novel is to discover the surprises for yourself!