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

Peter Maxwell returns from his year-long sabbatical in America expecting a nasty case of jet lag. Instead, he lands in the middle of a nasty case of murder.

The body of fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Josie Blakemore is discovered on Leighford beach. She’s been strangled.

Then another fourteen-year-old girl is found murdered on the same beach. And a third girl goes missing.

The prime suspect is Bernard Ryan, deputy head of Leighford High. He’s the strictest teacher at the school. But is he a killer?

Determined to prove his colleague’s innocence Maxwell sets out to uncover the truth.

He’s always caught the killer before. But could this be the case that breaks him?

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