Mrs. Pargeter feels passionately about points of honor. Where there's an obligation, you do your part to make it right -- especially if the obligation has to do with your departed and much loved husband!
The late Mr. Pargeter earned his magnificent living in somewhat dubious -- some might even say criminal -- ways, but when it came to Mrs. Pargeter and his duty to friends, he was a paragon of virtue. Nothing was too good for them. If they needed help, he was there.
Mrs. Pargeter doesn't know Veronica Chastaigne, widow of one of Mr. Pargeter's colleagues in crime, but when the terminally ill woman summons her to her stately home to ask for help, Mrs. Pargeter is more than ready to carry on in Mr. Pargeter's tradition. The task will not be easy.
If ever anyone required assistance, it's Veronica, whose husband had once promised to keep her in style. Keep her he did; in a mansion surrounded by master works of art -- a Rembrandt, a da Vinci, a Van Gogh, she has them all. The only problem is that they were "borrowed" from galleries and collectors around the world. Veronica had never sought such illicit treasures and, before she dies, she wants to make things right.
Can Mrs. Pargeter and her late husband's associates, Truffler Mason, Hedgeclipper Clinton, Hamish Ramon Henriques, and Palings Price, return the paintings? It's like stealing in reverse -- returning the works of art so that the owners never know where they have been and how they have reappeared.
There are, of course, a few troubling details, such as customs inspectors and security systems. There is also the fact that somebody else is after the paintings. And there is the minor problem of two policemen who are in pursuit.
Detective Inspector Craig Wilkinson ineptly investigated Mr. Pargeter to the grave. Unless Wilkinson has a lucky day, he's of little threat, but his eager young associate, Detective Sergeant Hughes, is far less dense and far more dangerous.
In a caper worthy of her much lamented husband, Mrs. Pargeter leads a merry chase that is so audacious that it just might work. Acclaimed author Simon Brett has outdone himself in a novel that is poignant, witty, and full of surprises.
