How do you shoot someone without being anywhere near the murder-weapon? This is the mystery facing Inspector Hemingway when he begins the investigation into the death of Wally Carter. There is no shortage of suspects: his wife, who finances his hare-brained schemes and has admirers a-plenty; his stepdaughter, who had little respect for his profligate ways, and the exiled Russian - actually Georgian - Prince, who would be happy to be married to such a beautiful, and wealthy, woman as Mrs Carter. Then there are the neighbours and other locals, many of whom had reason to wish Wally out of the way.
As usual, Ms Heyer brings her superb gift for characterisation to bear on a varied cast of potential suspects: fortune-hunting princes who may, or may not, be all they seem; grieving family who may not have too much to grieve about; and, as always, the investigating detectives, of varying degrees of perspicacity. There are clues as to how the crime was committed, and by whom, but Heyer's usual mastery of the story-telling art keeps the reader engaged until the last page.