Synopsis
Despite attempts to make her life in Greece and relationship with Andreas work, Susan Ryeland has found herself back in England working as a freelance editor with Causton Books. Her new boss, Michael, has tasked her with editing the first entry in the new continuation of the Atticus Pünd series, which is being written by Eliot Crace, grandson of the late, beloved children's author Miriam Crace. The hope is that Susan will be able to help Eliot capture some of the magic of Alan Conway's original series, as his previous two novels sold poorly.
Susan receives the opening chapters of the novel, Pund’s Last Case. In the novel, Atticus Pünd has retired as a detective after receiving a terminal diagnosis of a brain tumor. He's brought back into the field at the behest of Margaret Chalfont, a dying former associate who has grown afraid of her husband Elmer. She then leaves for a chateau in France, but by the time Atticus arrives he discovers that Margaret has died. His resulting investigation finds several clues that point towards Elmer being the murderer.
While investigating Eliot's family, Susan learns that Miriam was a manipulative, terrible human being who mistreated everyone around her. The Crace family willingly kept the abuse secret in order to maintain access to her wealth. Miriam's adopted son Frederick wishes to continue keeping it a secret so they can continue making money off Miriam's work. Betrayal within the family is discovered, as Eliot's wife Gillian has been having an affair with Eliot's brother Roland, resulting in a pregnancy. At a memorial dinner for Miriam, Eliot announces that his grandmother was murdered twenty years prior and that the killer's identity has been hidden in his latest book. Eliot then fires Susan and leaves the party, after which he is killed in a hit-and-run. Susan is framed for the murder by Elaine, the wife of Charles, the editor turned murderer of Alan Conway. The investigating detective, Ian Blakeney, does not believe Susan is responsible, however this does not stop Elaine and Charles to continue in their efforts.
With Ian's help Susan finds additional chapters and notes Eliot wrote for Pund's Last Case. Margaret's stepson, Robert Waysmith, is revealed as the killer. His name is an anagram for "it was my brother". Eliot wrote Robert as a stand-in for Roland, who he believed murdered Miriam. This is shown to not be the case, as the true killer of Miriam is Frederick, who was born out of an affair with her former chauffeur Bruno. Frederick murdered Miriam out of revenge, as Miriam had kept his parentage a secret and he had only learned of his father after the man's death. He killed Eliot out of fear that the book would reveal his crime.
Susan confronts Elaine over her attempts to frame her for Eliot's death. Elaine tries to murder Susan, but is arrested by Ian. Susan launches her own publishing company and purchases the rights for Pund's Last Case, which is finished by Ian under a pseudonym. Susan also publishes a biography of Miriam that reveals the woman's true, wicked personality. Sales of Miriam's work drop and lucrative adaptation deals are cancelled. The book ends with Susan and Ian becoming a couple.
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