The Seven Dials Mystery

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. At Chimneys, the grand country house of Sir Oswald and Lady Coote, a late breakfast, a lonely hostess, and Jimmy Thesiger's easy charm set a playful, satirical tone that soon gives way to unease. When the habitually sleepy Gerald Wade becomes the target of an elaborate alarm-clock prank, the younger guests rush into Market Basing to buy their clocks, turning social banter into a conspiracy of mischief. But the joke ends in horror when Gerry is found dead in his sleep, and the household's polished routines harden into shock, suspicion, and official inquiry. As the mystery deepens, Jimmy and Bundle trade clues and theories, sensing that the people around them are more dangerous than they first appeared. The brief inquest offers little comfort, and Jimmy's uneasiness drives him toward self-protection and a widening circle of intrigue. That tension carries into Wyvern Abbey, where Bundle enters a political house party crowded with compelling figures: Sir Oswald and Lady Coote, the glamorous Countess Radzky, the awkward inventor Herr Eberhard, and the increasingly watchful Superintendent Battle, disguised as a footman. Beneath the wit, gossip, and country-house elegance, a darker game is clearly underway.