When an overweight man suddenly dies, there are people libelling others,
stating that his death was caused by the strict diet he had been put
on. Detective Frances Doughty is called upon discover the source of the
anonymous libels. At the same time a former colleague of the man who
died asks her to locate his estranged family. They had disappeared
while he was in jail for a robbery he claimed he didn't commit. While
Frances is interviewing her client, Inspector Shareock arrives to arrest
him for the murder of his wife!
As she begins her investigation Frances just seems to run into dead
ends. Yet, clues at the recent killing are similar to that of the first
crime attributed to her client.
While busy with investigating the above cases, a woman comes to Frances
and asks her to investigate her husband. She is sure that he is eating
far more than he is allowed at home. Sarah, Frances' co-detective is
sent to serve as a house cleaner in the house in question to see what
she can glean about the husband's overeating.
Frances' client suggests the possibility that someone had been cooking
the books just before he was arrested. That may have led to his being
charged with a crime he didn't commit. Shortly after Frances begins to
question people about this, an attempt is made to break into the
business. Then following this she and Sarah are assaulted by two men
with chloroform. Fortunately they manage to escape unharmed. This must
mean that they are getting close to the real criminal.
It isn't long before the killer's plans begin to unravel. Frances'
investigation shows that there were many strands to the case and in the
end she and Sarah were able to prevent one more killing from occurring.
Author Linda Stratmann's murder mystery had many twists and turns that
the reader has to pay close attention otherwise they may get lost. A
very good read.
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