The Religious Body, Henrietta Who?, The Stately Home Murder

The Stately Home Murder: A dead body in a suit of armor, a once-wealthy earl with lots to hide, and a sprawling estate stacked with witnesses. It’s another head-scratcher for Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan. In the late 1960s and early 70s, times were tough in the upper reaches of British society. To survive, the Earl of Ornum did the previously unthinkable and opened his estate to wandering tourists. One day, a hyperactive boy and his family are delightedly roaming Ornum House. The curious one sees a full suit of armor on display and lifts the visor . . . only to find a human face staring back. As Sloan soon finds, the man in the armor is dead—and there’s a slew of suspects waiting to be interviewed. Was it the ditzy duchess? The disappointing nephew? One of the servants? The earl himself? Or a visitor? It’s up to Sloan and his wisecracking sidekick, Detective Constable Crosby, to find out before the murderer strikes again.

Originally published as The Complete Steel.