I liked this Francis Durbridge serial a lot. A bizarre murder of a managing
director sets the scene for the always terrific Gerald Harper to make his
mark as the brittle Detective Inspector Alan Milton. He is still smarting
from a broken engagement and then finding his ex-fiancee is engaged
again - to Harry Brent who, try as he might to appear innocent, seems to know a lot more than he lets on!!
Carol's brother, gentleman farmer Eric Vyner, seems to be quite chummy
with Harry and a Mrs. Tolly seeks out Milton, she worked with the murdered
man and swears she saw both the victim and Harry at a cafe, months before they were supposed to have met for the first time. Then there is the mystery of the pen - Milton gets a call a day after the murder by a woman who
claims she gave Wedgewood (the victim) a particular pen for a Christmas
present and now wants it back - weird!! Just who is the mastermind who
is pulling the strings!! Theatre tickets are found in Harry's wallet but he
claims no knowledge of them and again, as with all Durbridge's mysteries,
this leads down another rabbit hole!!
Harper commands the whole show but Jennifer Daniels, as Carol, was a very familiar face on 1960s British television. Judy Parfitt also excels as actress Jacqueline Davidson.