All that was left of the garage was a heap of charred and smouldering beams. In the driving seat of the burnt-out car were the remains of a body . . . An accident, said the police.

An accident, said the widow. She had been warning her husband about the danger of the car for months.

Murder, said the famous detective Lord Peter Wimsey - and proceeded to track down the killer.

'I admire her novels ... she has great fertility of invention, ingenuity and a wonderful eye for detail' P. D. James