Scandalize My Name

Scandalize My Name opens with a haunting image: Caroline stares out at the restless traffic, her mind plagued by the memory of Ivan Sweet's pale, cold face and the malevolent storm behind his dead brown eyes.

On the eve of Elaine Southey's 21st birthday, Ivan Sweet is discovered dead in his basement flat in the Southeys' historic north London home. A man who was a slick charmer to some tenants and a loathsome young scoundrel to others, his death does not elicit many tears among the residents and neighbours. However, the sordid truth begins to infiltrate the heart of this small community—a murderer is among them, and no one knows when they might strike again.

With the shrewd Oxford man, Superintendent Paul Grainger, on the case, the investigation reveals a small circle of suspects with complex connections and hidden motives. This tightly wrought mystery is laced with a chilling touch of the macabre.