Following their wedding, Peter and Harriet retreat to Talboys, a house near Harriet's childhood home which Peter has bought for her. The previous owner, Mr. Noakes, is mysteriously absent when they arrive, and soon turns up dead in the cellar, and in a considerable amount of debt to creditors as well as his gardner, Crutchley, and niece, Miss Twitterton.
One New Year's Eve, Peter and Bunter are stranded in the rural village of Fenchurch St. Paul. The rector of the local church provides hospitality, and in return Peter spends the night ringing church-bells in an ambitious nine-hour project, filling in for a ringer who is one of several villagers struck with influenza. A few months later, the husband of one of the flu victims himself dies, and in being buried with his wife, an unknown body is found to be buried atop her casket.
Amusing and absolutely appalling things happen on the way to the gallows when murder meets Lord Peter Wimsey and the delightful working-class sleuth Montague Egg. This sumptuous feast of criminal doings and undoings includes a vintage double identity and a horrid incident of feline assassination that will tease the minds of cat-lovers everywhere. Not to be missed are "The Incredible Elopement of Peter Wimsey" (with a lovely American woman-turned-zombie) and eight more puzzlers penned in inimitable style by the mistress of murder.
Lord Peter Wimsey, with faithful manservant Bunter, appears here in nine outstanding short stories. He deals with such marvels as the man with copper fingers, the bone of contention, and a stolen stomach. Readers will delight in hearing about the Egotists' Club, where you can talk about yourself as much as you like.
In this classic mystery, murder strikes close to home. Lord Peter Wimsey's brother is accused of murdering the man who is about to marry their sister. The body has been found at Riddlesdale Lodge, the Wimsey family retreat. Lord Peter must solve the case and clear the family name.
