An April Shroud (Abridged ed)

After he'd seen Inspector Pascoe off on his honeymoon with a few ill-chosen words, Superintendent Andrew Dalziel's holiday got off to a damp start.

Rescued from a flood by a bunch of singularly cheerful mourners, he accompanied them back to Lake House to recuperate.

Bonnie Fielding seemed untroubled by her husband's sudden demise, but more than worried by the half-finished Banqueting Hall that was to have rescued the family from penury.

Mrs Fielding's ample charms stirred feelings that the obese Dalziel had forgotten existed.

When he discovered that her first husband had also died in murky circumstances, he was inclined to take the news lightly.

But before long, the rundown mansion was littered with fresh corpses, and it looked as though Pascoe would have to rescue his normally hard-headed boss from making a complete fool of himself! "Hill is now so out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder" SUNDAY TELEGRAPH