When portrait-painter and occasional detective, Charles Honeybath, pays a visit to his old friend Edwin Lightfoot, there are a few surprises in store. Edwin's irksome wife is packing her bags, while Edwin is indulging in an eccentric game of pretence - acting the part of a long-dead petty criminal named Flannel Foot.

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.

At Mullion Castle, sumptuous stately home, we meet the Earl and his family. Charles Honeybath, has been commissioned to paint a portrait of the Earl's wife, but finds himself at the helm of a complex investigation involving ancestral works of art and a young under gardener.

A guide to series fiction lists popular series, identifies novels by character, and offers guidance on the order in which to read unnumbered series.