(Just why did Simeon Simcox, an ultraliberal clergyman, leave his entire fortune to Leslie Titmuss, a social-climbing conservative politician? Everyone in town - form the rector s own sons and their various wives and mistresses to the loyal gentry and the local gossips - has an opinion on the question. As John Mortimer recounts the delightful and dastardly goings-on in Rapstone Fanner, he creates a wickedly funny, totally absorbing portrait of British life from the austerity of World War II to the dubious prosperity of the eighties. This delightful social comedy has been adapted by Mortimer into an eleven-part series for Masterpiece Theatre. Raises the mystery to the level of a serious novel while still retaining a kind of detached amusement.... Mr. Mortimer s wry authorial tone steers delicately between satire and sentiment. - The New York Times Book Review)