The old Contemptibles

"The author keeps us enthralled with the rich interior and exterior lives of her characters in this emotionally stormy family saga." THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW When Scotland Yard superintendent Richard Jury is drawn into a brief affair with a troubled widow named Jane Holdsworth, her subsequent death makes him a suspect in her murder. Unable to leave London, Jury sends Melrose Plant, eighth Earl of Caverness to the Lake District to pry open the Holdsworth family's locked box of secrets. Plant does what he is bidden, in his own particular style, and what he uncovers is a shocking sheaf of surprises about the death-prone Holdsworth clan and its growing number of orphans.... "As always, Grimes' characters are gems, and her writting is as witty as ever." USA TODAY Selected by the Literary Guild and the Mystery Guild