One of the last books Lorac/Carnac wrote, and although some of her later ones show some falling-off of standards, this one is an exception. An elderly ex-army type takes a lady (staying in the same seaside hotel) for a ride to a local beauty spot, possibly with less than honourable intentions. He ends up dead and she's missing - is she guilty or another victim? At about the same time an assault takes place back at the hotel, all of which brings Inspector Strang onto the scene. Actually, his subordinate Dalton does most of the work, together with some help from his mannequin girlfriend. Part of their problem is to find the real identity of the missing lady, who wasn't popular with all the hotel's residents - and some of them are not who they seem, either. Some of the clueing isn't wholly fair, but the ending is quite exciting. It isn't clear, though, why Carnac didn't use her more regular sleuth Julian Rivers, as Strang isn't a sufficiently distinctive character to make him an essential part of the plot. ( )