At the start of British author Curzon's assured 11th Mike Yeadings police procedural (after 2004's A Meeting of Minds
), antagonistic members of the Dellar family have put aside past grievances to celebrate patriarch Carlton Dellar's 80th birthday when a fire breaks out late at night and destroys Carlton's Thames Valley house, critically injuring his nephew. While the fire inspectors sort through the ashes and rubble to determine the conflagration's cause, Det. Supt. Mike Yeadings and Sgt. Rosemary Zyczynski inquire into the whereabouts of Carlton's missing twin sister, who was the house's only unaccounted-for resident. Sifting through the minds and hearts of the Dellars, the detective duo unearth long hidden secrets that lead to a surprising conclusion to this expertly plotted mystery of greed and revenge. Agent, Harvey Klinger. (Dec.)
