A very silly book, but I enjoyed it. At first we know that Robert Dunne, who is is someone else disguised with a great deal of hair, is investigating the death of his friend Charley. Robert has turned up at Bittermeads, a country house inhabited by the smiling chess champion and master criminal, Deede Dawson, Dawson's ineffectual wife, and his beautiful stepdaughter, Ella.

Is Ella a goodie or a baddie? Did she know what was in the mysterious packing case? Why was there a completely irrelevant brawl in the first chapter? What on earth is going on here?

Eventually Punshon gives us an important piece of information, so suddenly we not only understand what's been going on for the first three-quarters of the book, but instantly guess what's about to happen and who the murderer is. ( )