Meet Peter Maxwell: film buff, golden-hearted cynic, bow-tied eccentric teacher . . . and reluctant amateur sleuth.

When Fiona Braymarr, the no-nonsense new head of Leighford High, starts swinging the axe on staff jobs, Maxwell decides to dig into her shadowy past. To his shock, he finds she doesn’t seem to have one.

Then two local women meet grisly ends — one plunging from a balcony, the other stabbed at the foot of her stairs.

Maxwell takes the murders personally when he discovers both victims’ children are students at his beloved school.

With danger closing in and his own life on the line, Maxwell must untangle the web of lies and secrets to catch a killer — and save the school he loves.

If you love Faith Martin, Richard Osman, Richard Coles, Fiona Leitch, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, Simon Brett, Janice Hallett, M.C. Beaton or Agatha Christie, prepare to be hooked by this character-driven thrilling mystery!