A British tour group in Italy finds murder is an obstacle to their sightseeing: Fastidious writing [and] a fine appreciation of place. Sunday Times A group of well-to-do tourists is visiting Italys magnificent churches, but theyve found themselves stumbling into an unholy web of blackmail and drug-smugglingand, in the depths of a Roman basilica, murder. Fortunately Inspector Roderick Alleyn is among the group as part of an undercover assignment, and prepared to extract a confession . . . A lively thriller whodunnit. The Observer The nonpareil among criminal investigators. The New York Times