Mrs. Pargeter's Plot — Simon Brett

THE PLOT THICKENS

Construction on Mrs. Pargeter's new country home comes to an unfortunate halt when a corpse is discovered in the wine cellar.

The accused is Concrete Jacket, a mate of Mrs. P's late, lamented husband, who made a living in discreetly nefarious ways. While Concrete has a history of untimely incarceration, Mrs. P is not about to let prison come between her and her dream home. Concrete may be a scoundrel, but he's no killer.

The strange arrival of an irascible monkey, an ex-con determined to make "restitooshun" and assorted good-natured crooks add to the mayhem as the unflappable Mrs. P tackles murder, mystery and the peccadilloes of the construction world with all the enviable panache bestowed upon her by her inimitable creator, Simon Brett.