P. D James

A museum near Hampstead Heath has been inherited by three siblings, all of whom are required to sign any new lease. Without the lease the museum will have to close. One brother won't sign. Then his body is discovered in his car.

P.D. James masterfully recreates the world of 'Pride and Prejudice', and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted detective story.

The year is 2021. No child has been born for a quarter of a century. The human race faces extinction. Under the despotic rule of Xan Lyppiatt, Warden of England, the old are despairing, the young beautiful but cruel.

This story is set in an Anglican theological college on a desolate stretch of the East Anglian coast. When the body of one of the students is found, his wealthy father demands that Scotland Yard should re-examine the verdict of accidental death. Originally published: 2001