Susannah Stacey Knihy

When Superintendent Robert Bone attends an amateur opera performance at Haddon House, his daughter Charlotte’s school, he imagines he’s finished with work for the day. But when at the end of the evening the pretty and ambitious English teacher, Claire ‘Sugar Plum’ Fairlie, is found in the Domestic Science room, where a knife has been firmly and terminally buried in her back, Bone finds himself launching a murder inquiry.The prime suspect has to be Mr Sharpe, who was found with the body; he has made no secret of his infatuation with Claire and admits she had lately rejected him. But Bone is convinced that Sharpe is innocent and, as one suspect after another starts to emerge, he begins to wonder just how many enemies the popular Miss Fairlie actually had. Yet only when another teacher, the charming Grizel Shaw, draws Bone’s attention to some inexplicable behaviour does the light begin to dawn...

"No one but American television actress Zephyr West-the bride-to-be-is celebrating rock star Ken Cryer's upcoming wedding. Zephyr's ex-husband, Dwight Schlumberger, is convinced that she can be persuaded to remarry him, and their daugther, Treasure, has teamed with Ken's son, Jem Cryer, to derail the coming nuptials. Ken's staff is also opposed to the marriage, while his ardent fans are protesting openly and loudly. Even Ken is having second thoughts-thoughts that close friends are encouraging. But someone has crossed the line. It begins with written death threats, which prompt Ken to seek the help of Superintendent Robert Bone. Although somewhat distracted by the impending birth of his child, Bone agrees to investigate. But as he organizes security for the gala wedding at the restored Herne Hall, Ken disappears-and a man's body is found in a quarry near his estate. If Bone doesn't quickly work his way through a maze of deceptions, delusions, and secrets long past, the groom may be dead before he can say "I do."--(p.4) of cover