In her big lonely house on the outskirts of the tiny Canadian town of Pottersville, 87-year-old Agatha Treadway dies of botulism after eating home-preserved string beans. And Agatha's doctor dies in an ""accidental"" fall the next day! These deaths naturally arouse suspicions--especially those of Agatha's young friend and neighbor Janet, who insists on calling in the Royal Canadian Mounties. So enter Madoc Rhys, in plainclothes, looking like ""an unemployed plumber's helper."" Despite appearances, however, Rhys unearths a web of bitter, long-standing feuds among Agatha's relatives (though it does take another murder before he spots the culprit). An unlikely motive (handled with some conviction), an over-coy romance twixt Madoc and Janet--but the New Brunswick atmosphere, subtly and very specifically captured, makes this a mostly-engaging offering from a welcome newcomer.