When their house has an altercation with a low-flying aeroplane, Kate and Tony Marsh are forced to move into the Hotel Cremona in leafy Hampstead. They are joined there by their friend John Barrin, late of Scotland Yard (whose flat has been earmarked for redevelopment), their dog Cocoa and their foul-mouthed parrot, Blaster Murphy.
Ever the snoop, Kate soon become caught up in the intrigue of an unfolding scandal involving Dario, the handsome ward of the hotel's owners, who has become entangled with a married woman, Mrs. Bruce. With the other residents becoming increasingly intolerant of Mrs. Bruce's behaviour including her cruel mistreatment of her invalid child, and her arrogant disdain for her fellow-guests tensions are running high. But when a ruthless killer strikes, Kate and her friends face a race against time to discover the culprit before anyone else suffers...
Originally published in 1932, this is a classic British murder mystery from the golden age of crime fiction.