A Coffin for Charley — Gwendoline Butler

John Coffin's life, steadily unfolding in Gwendoline Butler's long series of novels about him, continues to be both involving and suspenseful. After a stormy affair, he and actress Stella Pinero are now married, and Coffin has reached the rank of Commander - not without making political enemies in the process. Here, a series of bizarre murders and an ominous "watcher" who has focussed on Stella put Coffin on a desperate and dangerous quest. As a child, Annie Briggs saw two old neighbors murdered and identified the killers. Years later she is obsessed with the idea that she is being watched. When she learns that the murderers, a brother and sister, are being released from prison, she is terrified, fearing they will want revenge. One of them, now old and sad but unrepentant, returns to live close to Annie. But another killer is already walking the streets, cunning and inventive, adept at disguise and at attracting chosen victims. It looks as though the Second City of London may harbor a serial killer, and the police think the killer may be called Charley. John Coffin is responsible for finding who is behind these killings and the true motive, and soon discovers that in this case, nothing is straightforward. At the same time, his own life has its problems. Now married to Stella, he loves her dearly, but it is not an easy marriage. In addition, his beautiful sister and her daughter are a source of trouble, for the girl has disappeared. Is she one of the killer's victims? In tracing her, Coffin discovers the truth behind this series of murders in a case that will deeply affect the lives of those involved.