Gentleman sleuth Albert Campion tries to solve the murder of a prominent publisher in this "vivid and witty" British mystery (The New York Times).

Scandal hits the prestigious publishing house of Barnabas when one of the directors is found dead in a locked cellar. All eyes are on the other partners at the firm-cousins of the dead man with much to gain from his demise-and all rumors hint at a connection to the disappearance of another director decades earlier. Desperate to salvage their reputation, the cousins turn to Albert Campion-but will his investigations clear the Barnabas family name, or besmirch it forever?

"My very favourite of the four Queens of Crime is Allingham." -J. K. Rowling

"Ms. Allingham has a strong, controlled sense of humour and is never dull." -Times Literary Supplement