Witness before the fact

When Peter Corey's telephone rings one night it interrupts more than the evening news. Corey, popular author of children's books, is asked by his friend and illustrator, Clare Methven, to go on a trip which irrevocably changes his life.

Corey arrives in Madeira to find Clare's ex-husband resting quietly at home--with a bullet through his head. At first it appears to be the suicide of a lonely man, but soon evidence for murder emerges and the number of suspects begins to multiply: James Raven, an extremely jealous and possessive man; his wife Harriet who seems to be afraid of something; Harriet's disturbed godchild, Sara Baird; Michael Searle, the nephew and only heir; Frank Pelley, a casual acquaintance with an apparently more than casual interest in the murder; and even Clare becomes suspect. Peter Corey as witness before the fact must bring together the pieces of the puzzle.