Called on to investigate the death of wealthy baby food magnate and perennial prankster Arthur Trent, Hamish Macbeth finds himself faced with a list of suspects that includes Trent's greedy relations.
When the body of rich, old practical joker Andrew Trent falls out of a closet during a gathering at his remote estate, Constable Hamish Macbeth, who has a few tricks up his own sleeve, must solve this case while trying to avoid his former flame, Priscilla Harburton-Smythe, who has arrived on the scene. Original. 40,000 first printing.
Admittedly, there's a touch of black humor in the case. Rich, old practical joker Andrew Trent summons his kin to remote Arrat House in the dead of winter for a deathbed farewell. They arrive to find him in perfect health and eager to torment them with a whole new bag of unfunny jokes.But this time the body that falls out of the closet is Andrew Trent's own. And nobody's laughing.Especially not Constable Hamish Macbeth, who is hard put to glean any information from Trent's unappealing nearest and dearest. And when the lanky constable's former flame, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, inserts her beautiful self into the case, Hamish must muster all his native guile to carry him through. Fortunately, he has a few clever tricks up his own sleeve, which enable this most endearing of crime fighters to get the best, and last, laugh.