A Matter of Decency (en Inglés) - Christopher J Long

A respectable boarding house. A young woman under suspicion. A secret that someone is willing to kill to protect.

Weston-super-Mare, 1960s. Jenny Simmonds has only just been confirmed as Detective Constable when she is given what appears to be a small, rather embarrassing complaint from a local boarding house. Mrs Lydia Peverel, the landlady of Claremont House, claims that one of her lodgers, Helen Mercer, has been receiving a gentleman visitor after hours and bringing disgrace upon her respectable establishment.

At first, the matter seems more suited to gossip than police work. But Jenny is not convinced. Helen is not merely ashamed. She is frightened.

Behind the polished brass, lace curtains and carefully maintained respectability of Claremont House, Jenny begins to sense something far darker than ordinary scandal. The house watches. Its residents whisper. Its landlady knows more than she should. And the visitor, Maurice Lenton, is not the only person with a reputation worth protecting.

When impropriety turns to murder, Jenny and Detective Sergeant Roberts must uncover the truth hidden beneath layers of shame, silence and social respectability. In a town where appearances matter, and a woman's reputation can be destroyed before she has a chance to defend herself, the investigation becomes more than a search for a killer. It becomes a test of what decency really means.