'All these people who thought themselves securely in possession are now going to be dependent on the caprice of this young man.'

During a blinding rainstorm, Jake Seaborne takes a wrong turn and arrives at Ullstone Hall, where is he is initially mistaken for 'Hugo', the new heir to the family estate. It seems Hugo is the offspring of the late Mr Ullstone's first marriage in India, but the children of his second marriage have never met him. In short, the Ullstone family destiny is now in the hands of a complete stranger. A friend, Sir Frederick Lawson (who it turns out knows Jake's family) has been asked to act as a "sort of buffer" for Hugo on his arrival, but Lawton cannot stay and Jake agrees to act in that role until he can return. But not everything is as it appears to be, and when the handsome and charming Hugo arrives, trouble follows and before long three people are dead.

About the Author

Mary Fitt was the pseudonym of Kathleen Freeman (1897-1959) a classical scholar who taught Greek at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in Cardiff. Starting in 1937, she wrote 27 mysteries and a number of short stories as Mary Fitt and was elected to the Detection Club in 1950. Aside from her detective novels, Freeman published many books on classical Greece, scholarly articles and children's stories. She lived in St Mellons in Wales with her friend Dr Liliane Marie Catherine Clopet, a family physician, who wrote short stories and fairy tales.

Reviews

A novel of crime in which half Indian Hugo, returning to the house and fortune left him by the whimsical will of a British father, meets the antagonism of English Ursula and Jim, children of a second marriage. Their emotional entanglements, the imposture of Hugo and the murder of the real Hugo, the possible re-willing of the estate to an outsider, lead to a second death, the self-betrayal and suicide of the killer. A leisurely but practised performance.

* Kirkus Reviews *



Book Information
ISBN 9781899000548
Author Mary Fitt
Format Paperback
Page Count 285
Imprint Moonstone Press
Publisher Moonstone Press