The Hopwicke Country House Hotel once boasted a clientele of the rich and famous. But hard times call for hard measures, so owner Suzy Longthorne throws open her doors to welcome the Pillars of Sussex, an elitist group of local businessmen whose social gatherings revolve around drinking and off-color commentary. Short staffed, Suzy recruits Jude as a waitress to help keep the spirits flowing. But the next morning, Jude discovers that one spirit has flown away for good, when she finds the body of a young man, supposedly an initiate for Pillar membership, hanging from the beam of a four-poster bed.

The police are quick to rule the death a suicide. The Pillars of Sussex deny that the victim was ever considered for membership. Suzy just wants to forget the incident ever happened. But Jude knows that both parties have something to hide, so she enlists a reluctant Carole to nurture her relationship with a flirtatious Pillar in the hope that they’ll topple him over and uncover the truth.

Simon Brett worked as a producer with BBC radio before turning to writing full-time. A former president of Britain’s Crime Writers Association, he is the creator of the Mrs. Pargeter mysteries and the Charles Paris series as well as the Fethering mysteries. He lives in the South of England with his family.