When friends Maggie and Carol disappear while on a seaside jaunt, their husbands turn to the Peter Piper Detective Agency for help. But the missing persons case suddenly turns deadly serious: a resident's complain of scavenging foxes leads to the remains of the two women on a wooded roundabout in the small coastal town of Seaminster. Phyllida Moon, actress and private eye, is sent to investigate. Her impenetrable disguises win her unique entry into the lives of the victims' family and friends. And gradually she begins to suspect that Carol's daughter, Sally, knows more than she is prepared to reveal to anyone . . .
Eileen Dewhurst was born in Liverpool, read English at Oxford, and has earned her living in a variety of ways, including journalism. When she is not writing she enjoys solving cryptic crossword puzzles and drawing and painting cats.
Two middle-aged women disappear when they are away on a short break in Seaminster. Their husbands approach the Peter Piper detective agency to try and find out what has happened to them because the police regard it as two adults choosing to disappear. Phyllida Moon is tasked with finding out what has happened to them using her various disguises.
I think this is the best of the series so far and I really enjoyed reading it. The characters are well drawn and interesting and the mystery is sufficiently complex to keep the reader guessing. I like the background of a small seaside town and I think the relationship between the detective agency and the police is well done.
If you want well written crime novels with interesting and believable characters and little on the page violence then try this series.