A Hobby of Murder — E.X. Ferrars / Elizabeth Ferrars

Retired professor Andrew Basnett had been at loose ends since finishing the book that was for so long his full-time occupation. A country visit with his old friends Mollie and Ian Davidge seemed like just the diversion he needed. And, indeed, the visit begins pleasantly enough with a cocktail party to meet the Davidges' friends and neighbors: Eleanor Clancy, the somewhat tiresome and obviously lonely retired games mistress; Brian Singleton, a biochemist, and his visiting brother, Luke, a well-known thriller writer; Edward Audley, a solicitor; and the fashionable Sam and Anna Waldron, who occupy the manor house of the village. Then it is the Waldrons' turn to host a party -- an elaborate dinner cooked by Sam. The festive evening ends abruptly, however, when one of the guests keels over at the table and instantly dies. It's immediately apparent that the victim's coffee has been poisoned, although how the poison got there is not so apparent at all. But when a second corpse is discovered several days later, it seems clear that at least one person knew the killer's identity.