Did lovely Cara Quoyne get a whiff of the bitter almonds as she raised the goblet to her lips? We'll never know: With a single sip of prussic acid she transported herself to the Hereafter.

Now Inspector Alleyn must investigate a murder at the House of the Sacred Flame, a rather quirky little religious sect in London where Cara was a novice. It seems that somebody was operating from very un-spiritual motivations . . .

"Much better than the average run of mystery tales." —The New York Times