In the English town of Nether Monkslip, Lord and Lady Baaden-Boomethistle have been in residence for a few weeks, and the villagers are hoping for a return to the good old days, when the lord of the manor was frequently generous toward them. Former MI5 operative turned Anglican priest Max Tudor also looks forward to getting better acquainted with the famous family that once held sway in the area, but a sudden, macabre death occurs, and—in his fifth outing, following the Agatha Award nominee A Demon Summer—Tudor's talent for sorting through difficult clues in a murder case is once again called into play. "[G.M.] Malliet may be the best mystery author writing in English…. She's certainly the most entertaining." —Cleveland Plain Dealer