Sergeant Mack Helber, chief of the Paso Robles investigative bureau, receives a call that a body has been found in the grounds of Alden Castle, a prominent local residence set amid the rolling hills of the California wine district. The castle, former home of the Alden-Stowe family for nigh on 150 years, has recently been sold to developers.

The corpse, unearthed from a shallow grave, is dressed in a lavender-coloured shirt and a suit that may have once been white. If the deceased turns out to be an elderly male, Sergeant Helber thinks he knows who it is. Owen James Alden-Stowe III is famous in town for always wearing white.

Investigations reveal the former owners were heavily in debt. The selling of the estate enabled the mortgage to be paid off and a sizeable sum to be distributed to family members. The contract of sale, however, could only be finalised when every family member moved out. The elderly patriarch, Owen James Alden-Stowe III, refused to leave. He announced more than once – to family and visitors alike – that he had been born on the estate and he would die on the estate.

Three generations of the Alden-Stowe family are questioned. Sergeant Helber skilfully interrogates and many secrets, buried for decades, emerge.

While the former owners help the police with their enquiries, the developers start to demolish the castle’s interior. As the workmen rip out a marble fireplace, a skeleton falls into the cavernous hearth.

The Alden-Stowes are a family that is asset rich and income poor. But frustration with the antics of an elderly relative is surely not high on the list of murder motives. Many families have figurative skeletons in the closet, but the real one behind the mantelpiece and a decaying body in a shallow grave need explanations. We are kept guessing until all is revealed in the final few pages. This is an accomplished mystery.

Reviewed by Clive Hodges