A Step Down from the Usually Excellent Aird Book
Catherine Aird is one of my favorite authors because of her urbane wit and cleverly written murder mysteries. Detectives Christopher Sloan and Crosby are perfect together. Sloan, the detective of the pair, follows procedures and knows what he's doing. Crosby likes to drive fast and make sotto voce snipes and comments.
Sloan bristles a bit when his lieutenant sends the two detectives to check on the destruction of a greenhouse full of expensive orchids. After all, Sloan is a murder investigator. Soon others report to the police problems with their greenhouse plants. Sabotage is whispered around.
While the deaths of orchids are under investigation, Miss Enid Maude Osgathorp goes missing. No one seems to have a kind word for the old receptionist of the retired (and deceased) local physician. Everyone assumes the old physician left his reception a tidy bundle, so that she might travel in her retired years. But, Miss Enid is late returning from another lavish trip and even misses giving a speech on orchids to a local group. When Inspector Sloan goes on the hunt, can the solution be far behind?
