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Private Notes
Avon Eve (Janet Suzman), a British screenwriter just back from an assignment in Hollywood, has checked into the Bolton Health Hydro spa for a week of punishing fasting and diet, exercise, massage and "relaxation." Not at all convinced that she's made the right decision to stay, the cynical Avon begins to dread her vacation when she encounters Sonia (Jane Asher), her masseuse. Sonia, a "bright smiler" as Avon labels her (a woman brought up not to complain, living in reduced circumstances in a dead-end job, and putting on a brave face for people who couldn't care less about her), knows exactly who Avon is, recounting favorably an old screenplay Avon wrote - one which Avon dreads remembering because it was so awful.
Faced with the gloomy prospect of enduring Sonia's chipper droning each day, Avon tries to block out Sonia's faux-sunny tales of woe, but increasingly, Sonia becomes more strident in her storytelling. Recounting a lost love that robbed her of her youth and the promise of a dancing career, Sonia becomes more agitated (while Avon remains blasé and dismissive) - particularly when that former love shows up at the spa.
The Murders at Lynch Cross takes place at an out-of-the-way hotel in the English countryside. On its inaugural weekend, several guests show up who, rather inexplicably, seem to know it each other - but are reluctant to reveal exactly how.
As the snow piles up outside the hotel, and the guests realize they're stuck there with no way out, it becomes immediately apparent that someone is bent on killing them all. All of the guests are nearly gassed in the locked dining room, and then Harry winds up butchered in the cellar freezer. How are these people connected and why does somebody want them all dead?
At a typical English prep school, all is not well with Matthew Clay. A totally ineffectual teacher who has no control over the little boys in his class, Matthew clings to his somewhat unnaturally close friendship with super-cool, in-control, womanizing, money-borrowing bounder Max Donaldson. Max, who has borrowed money from everybody at the school, is in serious trouble with the headmaster, Gavin Barlow, for bouncing a check with a tradesman - a transaction that can break for public consumption as opposed to Max's run-ins with the local bookies. Matt, who has also lent Max money, is having particular trouble with Paul Millington, a boisterous little hellion who can smell Matt's timidity, and who isn't afraid to push the weakling instructor to his breaking point.
Complications arise when someone locks Paul's sister Pippa, a teacher at the school who's engaged to Max, in the art closet where she almost suffocates. Suspicions abound as to who the culprit might be, including Josie Barlow, the sexy wife of the headmaster and current lover of Max's. However, "complications" turn into a life-and-death struggle when someone succeeds in snuffing out Paul Millington, who is locked in the airless art closet. Who will be the next victim at the school - and who is the killer?
James Latimer has gotten far more than he bargained for when he became involved with the Penwarden family. An English master at a private school where Lady Penwarden is a board governor, Latimer is invited by Lady Penwarden to tutor her daughter, Sarah 19-years-old, and somewhat eccentric, Sarah has never attended school (she's always had governesses), but her family wants her to attend Oxford in the fall, and it's up to Latimer to get her up to speed. Unfortunately, there is a deep, dark secret at the Penwarden mansion, and a suitable cast of shady characters who may be involved in murder, including wayward son and black sheep of the family Lawrence and gruff, possibly psychotic elder of the clan, Sir Daniel Penwarden.
Comfortable couple Gilbert Smith and his wife Evelyn are trying to enjoy an evening of post-Christmas cheer with friends Bill Norton and his wife Meg. Playing cards and enjoying their drinks, the group is interrupted by the appearance of Richard Smith, the Smith's mentally disturbed son. Initially trying to placate him, the group quickly realizes that Richard is totally unbalanced and perhaps even dangerous. With the Nortons bowing out for the evening, Richard is left alone with his parents, who quickly realize Richard is in far worse shape than they realized. Tragedy strikes, and more horrors await the Smith's daughter, Julie, who is expected home late from an evening date.
Dust to Dust tells the overly familiar tale of a family of lonely-hearts murderers who eventually succumb to the same fate. Margaret Tutting has a nasty habit of enticing men through the mails, hoping that the lonely men that eventually come calling will bring cash (as she has instructed), as well as all her love letters (again, as she has instructed them to do, to eliminate all evidence of her crime). Convincing them that the money is a form of security dowry, she then strangles them in the ritualistic manner of the Indian Thugee.
Disposing of the bodies is the job of Arthur Henry Strapp, a grungy caretaker who also observes a ritualistic ceremony with Margaret, over his garden spade, before each murder. Living upstairs, bedridden, is Margaret's invalid mother Hermione Tutting, who is well aware of Margaret's activities. But Margaret may have met her match with potential new victim Austin Tupp, who quickly sniffs out Margaret's true intentions.
