He'd Rather Be Dead

Thanks to its mayor, Sir Gideon Ware, the quiet harbor town of Westcombe has turned into a crowded and rather garish seaside destination where visitors can come to escape the stress of wartime. When Ware collapses at a lavish luncheon, felled by strychnine, Inspector Littlejohn must travel from London to solve the seemingly inexplicable murder. Ware was surrounded by local bigwigs at his table—but that’s just the beginning of the suspect list, as Littlejohn untangles the rivalries, resentments, and corrupt dealings that permeate this picturesque but troubled community . . . “Assured prose, well-drawn characters, and the atmosphere of 1940s wartime England . . . well worth the reader’s time.” — “Everything is quite comparable in tone to a really good Simenon.” — “Dryly ceremonious wit [that] shines from the very first page.” —