History teacher Peter (Mad Max) Maxwell, a bit of a maverick, is sent on a short-term swap with another teacher at a nearby private school, Grimonds.
Here, amongst the gowns and debating societies, Mad Max stumbles on an unnatural death. It's the start of a complicated mystery that succeeds admirably in combining laughs with edge-of-the-seat excitement. One of the housemasters falls from the roof - Maxwell believes he was pushed. Then another is found floating in a lake. And what's with all the gay porn?
As Maxwell unravels the intricate web, suspicion falls on more and more of the eccentric cast of teachers, though some of the pupils also have motives.
Trow has a deft touch, and highlights some of the idiocies and fears of boarding school life, while never letting it get in the way of the pace of the story.
