Leading industrialist and donor to the Conservative Party, Ralph Manningham, forced his father into early retirement so that he could take over the family business. Many years later, he is discovered dead at his home, the spilled bottle of pills on his desk a clear suggestion of suicide.
The news of Ralph’s death causes a stir within his political circles; influential figures are worried that a potential scandal will engulf them. Inspector Max Bellamy’s task is to pick up the pieces, but as events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that Ralph’s apparent suicide is not as it seems.
Who has the motive to want Ralph dead?
In this perplexing and challenging ‘whodunnit’, will Inspector Bellamy succeed in solving the case, or will the shadows of deception prevail?
About Bruce Harris
Bruce Harris is a Devon-based author and poet who has been consistently successful in short fiction and poetry competitions since 2003, after a long teaching and research career involving published journalism.
Bruce has published four collections of short fiction, Fallen Eagles (2021), The Guy Thing (2018), Odds Against (2017), and First Flame (2013), and three poetry collections, The Huntington Hydra (2019), Kaleidoscope (2017) and Raised Voices (2014). His first novel, Howell Grange, was published by the Book Guild in October 2019; his second, Gemini Day, was published by The Conrad Press in July 2021, and his third, The Densham Do was published by Book Guild publication on February 28th 2022.
More Books by Bruce Harris
Out on 28th January 2026
