Receiving a phone call from a distressed boy who may be his illegitimate son, Scotland Yard Detective Joe Sandilands investigates the murder of a teacher at the youth's boarding school and discovers that boys, all from wealthy families, have gone missing from the school for years and that their disappearances have not been questioned.

Occasionally, the rugged landscape of Scotland attracts dreamers who move north, wrapped in fantasies of enjoying the simple life. They usually don't last, defeated by the climate or by inhospitable locals. But it looks as if Effie Garrand has come to stay. When local constable Hamish Macbeth calls on her, he is amazed to find the small woman still in residence after a particularly hideous winter. Unfortunately, Effie is also quite delusional,

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When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joined the fishing class, she wasted no time in ruffling the feathers-or was it the fins? -of those around her. Among the victims of her sharp tongue and unladylike manner was Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet not even Hamish thought someone would permanently silence Lady Jane's shrills-until her strangled body is fished out of the river. Now with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe,...

It's been a year since Sally Thorning's brief affair with Mark Bretherick. The two planned to never meet again. But now, Mark's wife and daughter are dead--and the safety of Sally's own family is in doubt.

Investigating the death of an informer who held vital information about a treasonous plot, Thomas Pitt traces the killer to France while London Special Branch head Victor Narraway discovers that a violent agitator from his past is operating in Ireland.

When a beautiful newcomer is found dead in the communal gardens, Inspector Witherspoon narrows down his list of suspects to Lucius Montague, who was seen threatening the woman, but Mrs. Jeffries has her doubts and sets out to find the real killer.