Title: Death of a Sardine
Description: A fine example of ingenuity rampant is exhibited in this witty author's latest mystery about a sardine that did not come in a can.

Laid in and about a palatial Portugese villa above the sea, the atmosphere intrigues and the characters are a fascinating lot. They include the widowed, rich, retired Brigadier Warrington, owner of the villa; his son Tom and an offbeat friend down from Oxford; a young and beautiful girl named Irma; and the reputedly irate figure of her absent husband, Herr Gantzenhausen. Assorted local people round out the colorful cast playing in this suspense-filled drama.

Because the Brigadier, who usually fancies unsuitable women, is enthralled by Irma and has given her shelter, the situation is decidedly unsettled. The threat offered by the imminent arrival of Irma's vengeful husband puts the villa and its inhabitants into a virtual state of siege. When the flow of events is quickened by a killing, the reader is completely baffled about the murderer. So is the official inquiry, partly because clues, alibis, etc., are nearly impossible to assess due to the peculiar potency of the local *vin de pays*.

Another of Joan Fleming's entertaining novels about interesting people who get involved in extraordinarily complex doings from which she extracts them with a maximum of suspense.