"Mr. Kitchin has achieved a very considerable feat . . . written with amazing economy . . . in short, it is a work of art." - Spectator"A writer who deserves to be admired and cherished." - Francis King"Mr. Kitchin is one of the cleverest, most intellectual, and most challenging of our novelists, and he has the rare merit of giving these qualities the flavour of a personality: they humanise and refresh his story instead of drying it up." - L. P. Hartley"Clever and r...

»Mörder, so sagt man, sind oft die charmantesten Charaktere.«Es weihnachtet sehr in der Beresford Lodge in Hampstead, unweit von Londons Zentrum. Malcom Warren, ein Börsenmakler, wird von einem seiner Klienten zu einer Weihnachtsparty eingeladen. Eine Gruppe von Bekannten und die einigermaßen komplizierte Familie des Klienten kommt zusammen, feiert ausgelassen, spielt Spiele. Doch als Warren am Weihnachtsmorgen im Gästezimmer aufwacht, findet er eine Leiche.

Francis Norton is an elderly bachelor who enjoys nothing better than spending a warm day outside in one of London's parks. When one afternoon he innocently overhears the earnest conversation of two young lovers, Edward and Mirrie, whose relationship is complicated by Edward's unhappy marriage to a drunken wife, Francis decides to interfere in an attempt to help the pair. But despite his good intentions, his matchmaking efforts have unexpected consequences, and he soon finds himself caught ...