St Cedd's Church fete had been held in the grounds of Martingale Manor House for generations. As if organizing stalls, presiding over luncheon, the bishop and the tea tent were not enough for Mrs. Maxie on that July afternoon, she also had to contend with the news of her son's sudden engagement to her new parlour maid, the sly single mother, Sally Jupp. On the following morning Martingale and the whole village are shocked by the discovery of Sally Jupp's body. Investigating the violent death at the manor house, Detective Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh is embroiled in the complicated passions beneath the calm surface of English village life.
From the community