A fool and his money

the long version

A Fool and His Money is the third volume in the Bartlett and Boase Mysteries, a warm-hearted series of detective stories that hearken back to the Golden Age of crime fiction. 1924, Cornwall. When a man is found dead from gunshot wounds on Hunter's Path, a picturesque spot in Falmouth, it's up to Inspector Bartlett and Constable Boase to find out whodunit - and, more importantly, why. The dead man, Clicker the Clown, was the main attraction at Martin's Circus - and with his reputation as a kindly and well-respected old soul, who would want to kill him? As Bartlett and Boase investigate, they discover old enmities and a close-knit community which doesn't want to give up its secrets ... even if that means the gallows for some. Meanwhile, the detectives have to combat interference from the higher ranks in the force - and problems in their personal lives which threaten to spoil the best-laid plans ...