A Word After Dying

When Superintendent Alan Markby and his girlfriend, Meredith Mitchell, feel in need of a holiday, they rent a cottage in Parsloe St John. Their temporary next-door neighbour, retired journalist Wynne Carter, is as convivial as the village itself. Over a glass or two of her blackberry wine, Wynne indulges in speculation about a former resident, Olivia Smeaton, a racy old lady whose life - and accidental death - she believes were not all they seem. Meredith is intrigued, and when another death is discovered in the village - this time clearly not accidental - her curiosity is proved to have been well-founded.