‘Tense, well-written and wickedly accurate on modern ad-world and Sixties foibles’ - The Times

Swinging London, 1968.

Record producer Barry Kershaw is at the top of his game.

Rich, successful and deeply, deeply unpleasant, he is fawned over – but despised.

And then, one night, he falls from a Maida Vale balcony to his death.

Jenni Hilton – beautiful, intelligent and a successful actress, vanishes from the London scene soon afterwards.

Did she know something about Barry Kershaw's death?

Around twenty years later, writer and freelance journalist Augustus Maltravers starts to wrestle with these questions.

Was Kershaw's death an accident? Did he jump? Or was he pushed?

As Maltravers begins to delve into the past, another character who saw Kershaw on the night of his death, dies suddenly.

Is this an unfortunate coincidence or is there a more sinister force at work?

As he uncovers more of the story, Maltravers finds himself face to face with some of the brightest stars of the 1960s, their histories and their shared secrets.

Although time has passed, some legacies of those years remain.

Particularly for one person. The only person who ever loved Barry Kershaw. Who is still out there, waiting, and ready to wreak vengeance…


Praise for Robert Richardson

‘This is quickly shaping into a fine series; Gus can be counted on for humor at the most disparate of moments, and Richardson fashions suspects out of his charming English eccentrics with panache.’ — Booklist

‘Richardson has produced another civilized and cultured mystery, depicting in fine detail the atmosphere of a seaside holiday town.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘A small, literate English mystery with … many plusses — among them, the setting, the tone, its puzzle, and its resolution.’ — Kirkus Reviews

‘Another elegant, urbanely witty entertainment. Richardson’s tale has a gem-like imitation of the Victorian master [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle] at its heart, making the book a double treat.’
— Publishers Weekly

‘Richardson is a tremendously gifted writer who uses language with such precision and inspiration that every page is a joy to read.’ — The Denver Post

‘Richardson delivers a second elegantly stylish, witty and tense mystery … A splendid, delightfully atmospheric tale that readers will relish.’
— Publishers Weekly

‘The sometimes pedantic Gus and his cricket-hating, gutsy Tess are charming — and so is this slightly offbeat and untraditional story.’ — Kirkus Reviews

Robert Richardson became a journalist in 1960. In 1985, his first crime novel, ‘The Latimer Mercy’ , the first in the series of Augustus Maltravers detective stories, won the CWA John Creasey Memorial Award for the best crime novel. Robert Richardson is also the author of ‘The Book of the Dead’ and ‘Skeleton Key’ .

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.