An April Shroud

After seeing inspector Pascoe off for his honeymoon with a few ill-chosen words, Superintendent Andy Dalziel soon runs into trouble and water on his own solitary holiday. Rescued by a bunch of somewhat cheerful mourners, he accompanies them back to their rundown mansion to dry off.

The owner of Lake House, Bonnie Fielding, seems less troubled by her husbands tragic death than by the problem of finishing the half completed Banqueting Hall which is to save her family fortunes. Prompted not only by a professional curiosity - why for instance would anyone want to keep a dead rat in a freezer? - but also by a more personal interest in Mrs Fielding's ample charms, Dalziel stay on.

By the time Pascoe reappears, there have been several more deaths and it looks as if his normally hard-headed boss might have compromised himself beyond redemption.