Marton Manor, in rural Herefordshire, makes a romantic setting even for a hastily organised wedding. And it is a quickly-arranged ceremony indeed that Fleur Jarvas is demanding — even though marrying before her twenty-first birthday means forfeiting a large inheritance. Naturally all the guests, including Mark Treasure and his wife Molly, are dying to know why . . .
But that is only the first mystery of a sinister country weekend. The real question is why the long-straying father of the bride shows up uninvited . . . As the wedding-eve rituals gather pace, so does the tension. And when the next day dawns, it is not to bells and confetti but to two unexplained deaths, a pointed disappearance — and a testing case for Treasure.
'Clues and red herrings jostle agreeably; Mark Treasure sorts 'em out, bankable as ever' Sunday Times
'A tale well told. The ebullient Mr Williams in top form' Financial Times
'An intriguing financial mystery . . . the murder is wonderfully, whimsically complicated, and the plot, ably worked out, is played for laughs' Chicago Sun-Times