This is another book in the Rex Graves series. By now we
have Rex has the new relationship firmly in place with his new love. The book
starts with a party at his new highland home for a few people and where he plans
to spend holidays with his girlfriend. The people invited are another couple
who are known to his mother, a family who run a hotel across the lake, a guest of
theirs and an old friend of Rex. The guests arrive amid pouring rain and it
looks set for the evening. As the party gets going Rex’s ex-girlfriend turns up
and since she has let her taxi go and it is raining Rex is forced to let her
stay the night.
There are strange undercurrents between various guests. Rex’s
friend is severely upset as one of the men he prosecuted for paedophilia and
murder has been acquitted and then he hears on the news that another child has
gone missing that evening. Since it was raining and roads were flooded all the
guests have to stay overnight. It takes some juggling to get everyone settled
to sleep. Rex spends a lot of time with his friend who is anguished at the
thought of his failure to put a paedophile behind bars and that yet another child
was missing.
Morning brings no relief indeed things get worse as Rex has
to break into the bathroom which was locked from inside but yet empty. Couple
of the guests go out for a walk and come rushing back as they have found Rex’s
ex-girlfriend dead in the lake. How did she get there as she was still in her
night clothes? Last anyone knew was she was having a bath before going to bed.
Did she take her own life or was there foul play? The phone lines are down and
when Rex goes to his car to drive down to the village and get the police, he
finds all his tyres are slashed. On examination Rex had found a bruise on the
back of the head of the corpse and so he suspects that there needs to be an
investigation. But all the police are busy looking for the missing child and
even the ambulance cannot make it right away due to the flooding.
Rex takes it on himself to investigate this murder. It has
to be someone staying at his house as no one could have come from outside in
the foul weather. Rex has found the dead girl’s mobile phone and so can make
calls secretly and gets information on the people staying with him. Someone
there is not who they claim to be. How will he go about finding this person?
Will the police come before he can sort this mystery? Otherwise the guests will
all leave as the weather improves and roads clear.
A simple story but does keep you wondering right up to the
end as the clues imply involvement of different people. Again a fairly pleasant
read and good company for a nice hot afternoon of lazing.
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