Otis Joy is a very good vicar - he's attracted record-breaking congregations, his parishioners admire and respect him, and the village of Foxford is very content with its lot. What the citizens of Foxford don't realise is that their beloved parish priest is a murderer.
Joy had managed to convince his treasurer to channel a proportion of church funds into his own bank account, and when his bishop queries this arrangement Joy kills him - after all, such a trifling misdemeanour should not prevent him from carrying out his duties. However, it isn't the first time he's despatched 'busy-bodies' and rumours are beginning to circulate, so that when the husband of his new treasurer is found dead it looks as though he's taken one life too many.
Peter Lovesey amply demonstrates that he is the acknowledged master of the whodunnit in this deliciously complicated and satisfying mystery.