SLEEP OF THE UNJUST

The amicably separated Freers—Felix and Virginia (I Met Murder, 1986, etc.)—meet again as houseguests of George and Christine Appleyard on the eve of the wedding of Christine's niece Sonia to biochemist David Eldred. The Appleyard daughter Fran is there, too, busily falling in love with David's friend Paul Camrose. Missing is semiestranged son Andrew, a movie actor in Hollywood, who makes a dramatic unannounced appearance that delights his mother but upsets Sonia—once on the verge of marrying him. The next morning, Andrew is found dead—an assortment of suicide notes nearby—and the wedding is off. Felix and Virginia proceed to play detective, as is their wont, undeterred by a second killing. At wordy, repetitive length, they work their way through a confusion of possible scenarios, winding up with the right one just ahead of Detective Superintendent Dawnay. Polite, tepid fare from a competent veteran, to be enjoyed most by her legion of fans.