Book three in this quaint and so typically British cosy crime series, part Agatha Christie and part Bertie Wooster.
Set in 1926, Arbie Swift, author of the Gentleman’s Guide to Ghost Hunting, and his assistant, Val, have been invited to Cleeves Lea Manor for a party weekend with other guests. Their hosts are Sir Bayard Cherville and his wife Lady Sybil.
Upon arrival, Arbie and Val detect an atmosphere, perhaps the wrong mix of guests? They both decide to investigate rumours of a ghostly signalman for the next book, apparently, death follows a sighting of the ghost. The local villagers tell of a ghost train, it reveals itself by a Fire in the Sky, the chimney belches forth Hellfire.
The next morning a guest is found dead in the library behind a locked door. The Doctor is called, a note is found and the Police are called. Inspector Battle is uneasy about the death, there seems to be too many clues,,do they point to the wrong conclusion?
When a second guest also winds up dead, this prompts an investigation into both tragedies.
This is at first a straightforward novel, the mystery of the train is easily solved, and the reasons behind it likewise. What this series of books does best is in analysing people, their weaknesses, strengths, all done in a compassionate and non judgemental manner.
Arbie and Val have a really good understanding of their abilities and they really bounce off each other in solving crimes.
The conclusion to this story is startling, surprising, and very clever. I never stood a chance of guessing this one! Wonderfully constructed, it was amazing how all these threads were woven together, it was a tricky puzzle and a locked room classic in the making.
I gave this a five star rating. My thanks to Netgalley and HQ, publishers, for my advance copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review.
I will copy this to Goodreads and Amazon later.

Arbie and Val have returned for another thrilling adventure! They have been invited for a country house weekend and, while Arbie hopes he'll be able to get a spot of fishing in, it quickly transpires that this won't be a particularly successful gathering of guests. Several people have unhappy shared histories and it's clear that all is not as it seems in the village either...

Arbie's profession of ghosthunter extraordinaire was used to great effect in this book, adding some additional layers to the mystery and I thought the addition of Geraint to the night-time vigil provided a new comic vein to mine. I'd love for Uncle to feature more in future books though!

Overall, a great read for people who enjoy Golden Age detective books and some lighthearted ghosthunting (or debunking!).