Death in a Salubrious Place

Published in 1973

From the back cover (Orion 2005 reprint):

There was no doubt at all that the girl was dead. The front of her skull and her facial bones had been splintered like the cracked shell of an egg. What made it even more shocking was the setting of the murder - an idyllic corner of the Scilly Isles where violent crime was almost unknown.

Angry and distressed, the villagers instinctively turn against the only stranger in their midst, the famous pop star and teenage idol Vince Peters.

But Superintendent Wycliffe is not so sure. Slowly, methodically, he begins to dig beneath the calm surface of the community - and soon uncovers a violent undercurrent of fear and guilt...

Age: "he was now forty-six"

Location: Isles of Scilly, but an imaginary island. It has a heliport and permits the use of motor cars which puts it at the level of St. Mary's, the largest of the islands at 2½ miles by 1¾ miles.

When Wycliffe arrives at the heliport, he is met by Sergeant Jordan:
Jordan insisted on carrying his case.
'I've got a car outside.'
'A car?'
'It's nearly two miles.'

Tresco, the second largest of the islands, has the only other heliport but does not allow motor cars. It measures approximately 1 by 2 miles. St Martin's has neither heliport nor cars and is about 2 miles long. St Agnes is about 1 mile long. The smallest island, Bryher, occupies 327 acres and boasts that it is possible to walk around the coastline in two hours.

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