Past Perfect Murder

In the quiet village of Aylesford, dark secrets lurk under the picture-perfect surface … and some of them are deadly.When a friend shares his suspicions that something other than natural causes might be behind the recent deaths of General Arbuthnott and his wife, Chief Inspector Hawthorne agrees to take a discreet look into the matter. Arriving incognito in picturesque Aylesford, he discovers that, behind its tranquil façade, the village is seething with rumors. Did someone put poison in General Arbuthnott's mushroom stew? Did someone push Selina Arbuthnott into the river? There is no shortage of suspects on hand, from the General's never-do-well heir to Selina's discarded lovers. Is it all just smoke, or has murder been done? Looking for the answers, Hawthorne begins to dig into the evidence of witnesses who knew the Arbuthnotts, and finds distraction in the shape of his landlady's beautiful niece, Juno Nash. The course looks set for romance … until a violent death rocks the village, bringing the secrets, lies, and murders of the past into sharp focus. To catch a desperate killer, Hawthorne must set a trap – and hope that the innocent will not be made to suffer for the sins of the past.