Boys will be boys, at a boy's school. When a woman is found locked in a closet, it gives someone, intent on murder, an idea for a perfect crime.
A snowstorm traps the guests, proprietors and servants at the newly opened Lynch Cross Moorland Hotel in Yorkshire. Gradually, everyone realises that a common thread--involving an old crime--links them, and new murders ensue.
A murder has occurred at the Penwarden country home, and the prime suspect is the new tutor to daughter Sarah. A murder mystery with many twists and turns and dark family secrets to keep the armchair sleuth guessing.
Successful film and TV writer Avon Eve checks into a spa for a week of rest and relaxation. There, she is assigned a masseuse, Sonia, dubbed 'The Smiler' by the staff for her constantly pleasant and smiling disposition. Sonia has heard of Avon and is particularly enchanted by one of her TV works, one that Avon considers quite dreadful. As they spend more time together, Sonia begins to recall a failed love affair with Sir Jonathan Sibley, who claimed to have loved her but refused to marry. When Sibley arrives with his new wife Tania – and fails to recognise Sonia – Sonia's mental state snaps, driving her to a terrifying game of Russian roulette.
An English, female thuggee operates out of her country house.
On Christmas night, parents leave their psychotic son alone in the house.