Description

When fabulously wealthy young recluse Sir Theodore Allen is found dead from cyanide poisoning, Lord Riley Rochester hopes to discover the identity of his killer quickly. Riley is preoccupied by his wife’s imminent confinement and has decisions to make about his career.

But Sir Theo’s circumstances are far from straightforward. He had invited his estranged family to visit, and his murder took place on their first night beneath his roof. Greed and resentment seem the obvious motives, as Sir Theo was about to astound them all with the announcement of his engagement to Miss Cassandra Bradshaw, dashing his rapacious relatives’ hopes of inheriting.

Riley’s cells are overflowing with suspects—all of whom seem to have something to hide, especially Sir Theo’s long-standing servant and friend Matthew Trent. As Riley and his dependable sergeant, Jack Salter, delve deeper they become convinced that the murder has something to do with the death of Sir Theo’s parents twenty years previously in a house fire. Had Sir Theo discovered who was responsible for that unhappy event, and had he called his relatives together to reveal his findings?

When Theo’s father’s long-standing secretary is killed the day after Theo, Riley must pit his wits against a wily and desperate individual who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks and hang on to his liberty. Can Riley keep his mind on the case and catch him before he strikes again…