Sophie Rivers, a lecturer in English at a run down college, finds herself on a residential writing course won in a raffle. Arriving at Eyre House she discovers a mixed bag of students including a middle aged surgeon, three older women, a young rather unpleasant man who is writing a screenplay, and a sexually aggressive but quite well off woman.
From the beginning it seems unlikely that this ill assorted is going to coalesce into a good working group. This is quickly borne out with the death of one of the students. At first it looks like an accident, but Sophie has a feel that there is more to the death than appears on the surface.
Then unexpectedly, one of the tutors disappears leaving behind all of her computer equipment and clothes as well as her rat, Sidney.
At times spritely, at other times tense, this book does not have the same amount of action as the first in the series, but Sophie's hapless love life and the personal lives of her companions are interesting.
I'm not sure that I quite believed the motives for the crimes but its a fair read.
This book follows Dying Fall precedes Dying on Principle.