Was it a tragic drunk-driving accident, or something more twisted? "You can never go far wrong with a Dr. Priestley story." —The New York Times

Superintendent King has concluded that the drunk driver with a dead body in his car was only guilty of manslaughter, not intentional murder. But Dr. Lancelot Priestley thinks there's more to the story—especially considering that the victim's estate, Pinehurst, has been plagued by burglaries of late.

As he applies his usual scientific rigor to the case, Priestley will be drawn into not one crime but many—and some of them date back years—in this classic British mystery.