I had detected no sound or movement, but her eyes were open and, as I approached, she fixed them on me with an agonised stare.

Tessa Crichton, actress wife of Scotland Yard Inspector Robin Price, comes to Storhampton to star in the local drama festival . . . and finds her most challenging role in a masquerade ending in murder. It begins when the insufferable Edna Mortimer sees her exact double at the races-and is literally scared stiff.

Somebody has played a nasty practical joke on the wealthy dowager. But one look at Mrs. Mortimer's terrified eyes and some indecipherable pencil squiggles tell Tessa this is no laughing matter. Could the grim prankster be one of Edna's greedy heirs? When the will is finally read, it only raises more questions. Someone is not getting their just deserts. But can Tessa find out who before the deadly double strikes again?

Scared to Death was originally published in 1977. This new edition features an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

'Anne Morice has a gift for creating intelligent, affection-generating characters, set in light and entertaining atmospheres.' Spectator