A mysterious invention causes mayhem in a coastal English village—from “my very favourite of the four Queens of Crime” (J. K. Rowling). The ancient hamlet of Saltey, once the haunt of smugglers, now hides a secret rich and mysterious enough to trap all who enter . . . and someone in town is willing to terrorize, murder, and raise the very devil to keep that secret to themselves. When a transistor thought to be the key to telepathic communication is found, Albert Campion is called to sort fact from fiction. But the device at the center of the mystery is in the possession of two schoolboys, and whether they stole it or invented it, there are others who will kill to get hold of it. “Allingham has a strong, well controlled sense of humour, a power of suggesting character with a few touches and an excellent English style. She has a sense of the fantastic, and is never dull” —Times Literary Supplement