From the inside front cover of the dust jacket of the first edition of Death by the Lake by Leo Bruce, published by W. H. Allen (London, 1971):
From page 1 of the same edition:Murder follows Carolus Deene around—even to his retirement in the little village of Millgrove Water where they are still talking of the murder, five years before, of Jessie Flitcher by her criminal husband Desmond. Her body was never found, and Desmond has dropped out of sight.Carolus finds the challenge irresistible and begins questioning Jessie’s two sisters. Julie has nothing new to add but he becomes convinced that the reclusive Marie has some clue to the mystery. Then an old friend of Jessie and Desmond, whom Carolus is advised to question, is murdered before he can get to him, and Desmond is once more the prime suspect.Carolus follows the trail to Liverpool and, when he finally discovers the true identity of the murderer, he and Marie only barely escape with their lives.
Another Carolus Deene mystery from Leo Bruce. What did happen to Jessie Flitcher’s body, and how had her husband managed to evade the police for five years? And why was the unfortunate George Garrison murdered, apparently without motive, as soon as Carolus Deene started enquiries? Does the answer lie under the motorway, or at the bottom of the lake? Leo Bruce weaves this web of intrigue and murder with his usual mastery and keeps us in suspense until the final page.
