This novel is set in rural Scotland in the 1930s, with fanciful plotting and bizarre characters. It is narrated by Ewan Bell, Noel Gylby, and Lawyer Wedderburn. Innes uses unfamiliar Scottish English words to add to the local color and strange atmosphere. Gylby's Gothic scene of the ruined castle is impressive. Lawyer Wedderburn's orotund style is also impressive. This detective story has been recognized as a classic by Rex Stout and other critics. It features multiple points of view, unreliable narrators, sly social comment, and starts in the middle of the story. Innes wrote mysteries by assuming his audience included bookish people, and is a word-lovers delight.

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