A Going Concern — Catherine Aird

The late Octavia Garamond's last wished were very odd indeed. Her request for a police presence at her funeral bothers Inspector C.D. Sloan, but not nearly s much as her insistence that her body be thoroughly examined after her death. Amelia Kennerly is worried, too, when her holiday is interrupted by the news that she has been appointed executrix for a great-aunt she only met once. Now she is in charge of executing a number of inconvenient requests from her late Aunt Octavia.

But when Octavia Garamond's house is broken into and her papers ransacked, it begins to occur to all concerned that perhaps her written requests were not simply the ramblings of a senile old lady, but the actions of a woman in fear of her life. Inspector Sloan, aided (as it were) by Constable Crosby, finds himself facing an inexplicable puzzle. Who would want to harm a quiet eighty-year-old woman? He must dig deep into Garamond's past, both personal and professional, to uncover the key to a long-kept secret and reveal the sinister truth behind her tragic death.

With Aird's characteristic charm and wit, A Going Concern is a delightful welcome back for Inspector C.D. Sloan.