A wealthy family’s country estate becomes a site of scandal—and murder—in this “first-rate whodunit” (The Sunday Telegraph).
The wealthy Decker family has lived at Hurstley Place for hundreds of years. And the traditional pheasant shoot is still an annual event, although it is now financed and enjoyed by members of an outside organization. One of its members, Bill Rafferty, desperately wants to be invited to dinner by the Deckers and accepted into their social circle.
But the Deckers treat him with disdain. When Rafferty is found dead in the forest, it’s assumed he accidentally shot himself because of his clumsiness with a rifle—until DI Doherty arrives on the scene and suspects foul play.
When it’s discovered that Rafferty had been blackmailing the Decker estate, and rumors that his wife was having an affair, it seems the killing may have had a motive. When a second person is shot dead in the woods, murder is beyond doubt. But after the police think they’ve captured the culprit, more evidence reveal they may have apprehended an innocent man. If so, the real killer remains free to pursue a twisted criminal scheme, in this compelling crime novel from an “ingenious” writer (The New York Times Book Review).
“All Mr. Jeffries’ stories are well made and interesting.” —The Times Literary Supplement
