The story starts dramatically with the discovery of seven corpses in the living room of an occupied country house. The owner John Fenner inexplicably left in haste with his niece Dora. A personable young man stumbles into the scenario by chance. He’s a journalist with a passion for yachting, and his adventurous nature is stirred by a painting of the attractive niece. Thomas Hazeldean gets into a kind of partnership with Inspector Kendall.This is a love story in addition to an engaging puzzle mystery. Farjeon had a penchant for mixing romance with murder, and does it well. The narrative has its humorous moments too. Inspector Kendall likes to exercise his sharp and witty tongue by teasing the non-too-bright local constable. Kendall and young Hazeldean also indulge in some barbed repartee.The clues are as bizarre as the crime, among them a dead cat and an ancient battered soccer ball. The story throws the young people into a sinister pensione in Bologne, where Hazeldean gets to grapple with a nasty landlady and a murderous servant. There’s plenty of action in this 1939 mystery, and ultimately more murders than seven!The very eventful plot includes fearful and fascinating happenings at sea. I read this delightful Golden Age mystery in a day, I found it so absorbing. Farjeon is a gifted storyteller. The succinct introduction is a good read too. I hope that the British Library will revive more of Farjeon entertaining mysteries. I’ve read all their other reprints and want more...