Black Widower — Patricia Moyes

Sir Edward Ironmonger, the ambassador to the United States from the newly independent island republic of Tampica, and his beautiful, temperamental wife, Mavis, are throwing a party for the Washington diplomatic corps. Despite her promises to behave, Mavis manages to insult the Israeli ambassador and is quickly removed to her room, where her corpse is discovered a few hours later. Suicide is ruled out by an autopsy, and to avoid embarrassing publicity Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett is brought in to conduct a discreet investigation.

Henry Tibbett, Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard, has for years delighted those who love a classic British detective story. A modest, self-effacing man, Tibbett possesses an almost uncanny "nose" for crime, and those who know him well realize that his gentlemanly demeanor masks a shrewd mind and a fearless spirit. When he teams up with his wife, Emmy, a cheerful but formidable woman, there isn't a criminal anywhere who can rest secure.