Heavenly Vices

the long version

Conrad Duff, warden of Gracemount Theological College, had a talent for generating tensions. Which, as visiting deacon Theodora Braithwaite notes, to judge from the anxieties exhibited by the college staff, has survived his demise. A demise by heart attack that was regretted by few and devoutly wished for by many, including Duff's estranged wife Richeldis and his son, who loathed his father with a vengeance. Then Theodora receives a bizarre summons: Duff's death was not all it seemed. If Theodora desires access to the papers of the college's Victorian founder Newcome to complete the long-cherished research that has brought her to Gracemount, she must oblige the redoubtable Richeldis by turning up the truth about her husband's death. Appalled, Theodora has little choice but to try to comply...