In the Crypt with a Candlestick

LONGLISTED FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT AWARD

''Sharp, funny . . . the best sort of murder mystery'' Tatler

''A perfect antidote to all the real-life craziness going on'' Daily Mail

Sir Ecgbert Tode of Tode Hall has survived to a grand old age - much to the despair of his younger wife, Emma. But at ninety-three he has, at last, shuffled off the mortal coil.

Emma, Lady Tode, thoroughly fed up with being a dutiful Lady of the Manor, wants to leave the country to spend her remaining years in Capri. Unfortunately her three tiresome children are either unwilling or unable (too mad, too lefty or too happy in Australia) to take on management of their large and important home, so the mantle passes to a distant relative and his glamorous wife.

Not long after the new owners take over, Lady Tode is found dead in the mausoleum. Accident? Or is there more going on behind the scenes of Tode Hall than an outsider would ever guess....?

In the traditions of two great but very different British writers, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, Waugh''s hilarious and entirely original twist on the country house murder mystery comes complete with stiff upper lips, even stiffer drinks, and any stiffs that might embarrass the family getting smartly brushed under the carpet...

What everyone''s saying about In the Crypt with a Candlestick...

''I couldn''t put it down'' Santa Montefiore

''A delightful treat'' The Lady

''Deliciously entertaining'' Andrew Wilson

''An irresistible champagne bubble of pleasure and laughter'' Rachel Johnson

''A perfect antidote to wintry gloom'' The Literary Review

''What a triumph!'' Antonia Fraser

''A masterclass in how to write a rollicking good read'' Sarah Vine

''A jolly farce that never takes itself too seriously'' Red Magazine

''Fizzles, crackles and sparkles'' Elizabeth Buchan

''A work of sublime silliness'' Simon Brett

''An effervescent madcap whodunnit'' Metro

''A marvellous rollicking read'' Mary Killen

''She''s skewered her targets brilliantly'' Imogen Edwards-Jones