The Silence of the Night — Roger Ormerod

When Hillary Keane realised that the only way to preserve Hillington Towers was for the public to share the expense, he decided to open the Grand Hall as an art exhibition. But this involved security, and the security involved David Mallin. The fact that Beanie Sloane was seen in the area indicated some urgency, but Dave hardly had a chance to start before he had a murder and a smashed T'ang to deal with. But was the vase smashed during the commission of the murder, or the murder an offshoot of an attempted robbery? Mallin's deductions only plunge the problem deeper into obscurity, and Elsa's assistance, though well-intentioned, proves a dangerous distraction.