Something sinister is stirring at Totleigh Hall, the imposing manor house dominating the village of Nether Monkslip.

Usually, the lord and lady of the manor are absent for most of the year, but this year they have been in residence for some weeks now, and the villagers are hoping for a return to the good old days, when the lord of the manor sprinkled benefits across the village like fairy dust, building roads and repairing bridges and donating money to the upkeep of St Edwold''s, while hosting splendid dinners at the Hall to which the vicar and the village doctor were invited by right and tradition.

Max Tudor''s own invitation comes as a welcome novelty; it will be his first time meeting the famous family that once held sway in the area. The fact that they were famous for their eccentricities only adds to their appeal for the Anglican priest. But before he has time to starch his clerical collar and organize a babysitter, a sudden and suspicious death intervenes, and the handsome vicar''s talent for sorting through clues to solve a murder is once again called into play...

Praise for G.M. Malliet:

''Rarely have I read descriptions that have left me gasping, in both their hilarity and their painful truth.'' Louise Penny

''G.M. Malliet has brought the village cosy into the twenty first century... Wicked Autumn is a refreshing read for everyone who loves a really good murder.'' Charles Todd

''There are certain things you want in a village mystery: a pretty setting, a tasteful murder, an appealing sleuth... Malliet delivers all that.'' New York Times Book Review