False Alarm

In the latest Abbot Agency mystery, Bea finds herself obligated to help a businessman whose life is in danger . . . and is sucked into a community packed with scandal, intrigue and corruption Bea Abbot is asked to find the man or woman who laid a booby trap for Sir Lucas Ossett, the powerful head of an international company, in his own block of flats. She finds Sir Lucas's wife in a state of fear, while gossiping elderly ladies cast doubt on the probity of their neighbours; these include a 'therapist', an ex-employee of Sir Lucas's, and a cross-section of yuppies and oddballs with life-threatening problems. Call-girl cards have been left in tenants' letterboxes, a cat has met an untimely end, and snow is forecast. Sir Lucas's influence reaches out to touch and perhaps corrupt even those nearest to Bea, while trivial incidents escalate into violence and death. Bea ruins two beautiful pairs of high-heeled boots in her attempt to separate the foolish from the murderous and reveal who it is who has brought death and destruction to so many people . . .