A Blunt Instrument

Ernest Fletcher is found beaten to death in his study, although his respectable public life appears to offer no clear motive. Hannasyde soon discovers that Fletcher’s private relationships were more complicated and that several people had reasons to fear exposure.

A second death repeats elements of the first and turns a domestic investigation into a problem of timing and opportunity. The solution depends on separating carefully staged appearances from the ordinary objects and routines inside the house.