First published 1984
A Scotland Yard inspector arrives at a remote estate owned by two peculiar elderly men. The handyman has died under circumstances that could point to suicide or murder. The inspector must navigate the eccentric household and uncover the truth behind the death. As he questions the residents and examines the evidence, conflicting details emerge about the handyman's final days. The two old men prove to be unreliable witnesses, each harboring their own secrets. The inspector finds himself drawn into a web of deception where nothing is quite what it appears. He must determine whether the handyman took his own life or fell victim to something more sinister. The investigation forces him to confront the thin line between truth and fabrication in a household where reality itself seems negotiable.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, mystery, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigation, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Scotland, England
Period: 20th-century
222 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Pantheon