Essentially, a country house whodunnit, but with mercantile and business characters and some fairly typical moral and other ambiguities popping up here and there. This is a soothing read which handles a large cast of characters and rather fizzles out just as things threaten to really get going. Enjoyable, though neither oddball, tense or mysterious enough to fully grip the attention. The book’s almost exclusive country setting and its eccentric couple’s party lend very much to the sense of familiarity, though some moments of enjoyment and strangeness with glimmers of wonderful imagery and description.