Unhappy Returns — Elizabeth Lemarchand

The peaceful little village of Ambercombe is appalled by a succession of outrageous, horrifying occurrences. -- The eccentric spinster Ethel Ridd, housekeeper to the recently deceased vicar of the parish, scandalizes the villagers by publicly declaring that a centuries-old jeweled chalice used for special church services is missing from the late clergyman's belongings and implies that someone local had stolen it.