A paralyzed Sir Hugo Coal chips away at the mystery of the murder of his daughter's fiance, weighing the possible motives of those who share his manor, including his enigmatic butler, Fledge. This is a disturbing gothic tale set in a manor house in Berkshire in 1949, in which Sir Hugo Coal, amateur palaeontologist, curmudgeon and sexual fantasist, recounts the fall of the House of Crook.

A powerful and rich playboy, a rare but naturally occurring poison, a newly divorced woman with an axe to grind, and pressure from the former President of the US--these are just a few of the challenges that African-American Detective Oliver Parrott faces when he answers a routine call for back-up and discovers someone died at a country estate the morning after an elaborate birthday party. When Parrott learns the deceased is the wealthy former US Secretary...