Publisher's Synopsis
Crime was never cozier at Moriston House, Lord Hugo Anstead's elegant estate tucked away in the charming English countryside. A quiet Tuesday evening is shattered when their gossipy London Agent, Penny Martin, reports a murder at the newly appointed Mayfair Detective Agency. As one of society's rambling English roses, everything she said was news. Her bridge parties were the toast of the town--until slick financier James Boyle died after drinking a glass of champagne intended for Caroline Audley, whose husband died in suspicious circumstances. But was James Boyle the intended victim? A sociable gathering of suspects cloud the investigation, including her sly son, Edward Audley, whose name had gilded the crime column on numerous occasions. His strange sister, Ruth, knows more than she's letting on, and secretly held the financier responsible for her father's sudden death. Their outspoken aunt Florence savored every morsel of the murder, and arrogant architect Marcus Wetherby may have designed the perfect crime. Lord Hugo Anstead and the village sleuths are keen on the scent, as their first lady of crime, Jane Holden, unravels a dangerous plan. Elizabeth Branell-Markson, an ambitious young journalist with an eye for crime, is certain that there is a connection to the death of Caroline Audley's husband. Joined by an old friend, Chief Inspector Robert Hartley, the Mystery Society uncovers a cunning trail of deception. But will they solve the case before the murderer serves another deadly cup of crime?
