During a walk to Elvedon House, palatial home of the Tythertons, Sir John Appleby and Chief Constable Colonel Pride are stunned to find a police van and two cars parked outside. Wealthy Maurice Tytherton has been found shot dead, and Appleby is faced with a number of suspects.

There are fifteen stories in this compelling collection, including: Poltergeist - when Appleby's wife tells him that her aunt is experiencing trouble with a Poltergeist, he is amused but dismissive, until he discovers that several priceless artefacts have been smashed as a result.

Clusters, a great country house, is troubled by bats, as Lord and Lady Osprey complain to their guests. Appleby is indifferent, but he is soon faced with a real challenge - the murder of Lord Osprey, stabbed with an ornate dagger in the library.

Every English mansion has a locked room, and Grinton Hall is no exception - the library has hidden doors and passages?and a corpse. But when the corpse goes missing, Sir John Appleby and Charles Honeybath have an even more perplexing case on their hands.

Sir John Appleby dines one evening at Allington Park, the Georgian home of his acquaintance Owain Allington. The evening comes to an end but just as Appleby is leaving, they find a dead man - electrocuted in the son et lumiŠre box which had been installed in the grounds.

Inspector Appleby is stranded on a very strange island, with a rather odd bunch of people - too many men, too few women (and one of them too attractive) cause a deal of trouble. But that is nothing compared to later developments, including the body afloat in the water, and the attack by local inhabitants.