Four strangers arrive at the solicitors’ office of Puckle, Puckle, and Nunnery. They have never met, and have no idea why they have been invited. But they – along with a missing man – are descendants of the late Algernon George Culver Mayton, the inventor of “Mayton’s Marvellous Mixture” and each entitled to a portion of the Mayton Fortune. But before they can split the money, the missing man must be found.

They begin their search, but then Detective Sloan receives a call that one of the legatees had died following an attack of food poisoning. Now detectives Sloan and Crosby must determine whether the deceased merely ingested a noxious substance by accident, or if the legatees are being picked off one-by-one. And when matters of money and family rivalry are involved, there is almost certainly foul play afoot.

The police inspector brightened. ‘I must say that any suggestion of a motive would be a help. The deceased didn’t appear to have any natural enemies.’ ‘We’ve all got natural enemies, Inspector. I think what poor Walkinshaw had were some unnatural ones.’

Last Writes is a mischievously clever compendium of twenty-two short stories from the pen of classic crime author Catherine Aird. Not only do her much-loved police duo Detective Inspector Christopher Sloan and Detective Constable William Crosby feature, but also a host of new characters including the mysterious Malcolm Venables of the Secret Service.

Full of delicious twists and turns, Last Writes is be a collection to curl up with and savour.