Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses anti-gay bias, sexual abuse, xenophobia, ableism, violent murders, and death by suicide.

Susan Ryeland is two years into a new life in Crete. Her London publishing career ended due to the death of author Alan Conway and the impact of his final book, Magpie Murders. Susan co-owns and runs the Polydorus Hotel with her Greek fiancé, Andreas Patakis. Although the Polydorus has beautiful sea views, the hotel is beset with problems, including unpredictable staff, unreliable Wi-Fi, and an ineffective plumbing system. Susan is exhausted, and her relationship with Andreas is strained.

One day, a wealthy English couple visits Susan. Lawrence and Pauline Treherne reveal that Sajid Khan gave them her details. Susan recalls Khan as the Suffolk solicitor who discovered Alan Conway’s dead body. The Trehernes own a five-star hotel in Woodbridge, Suffolk, called Branlow Hall, which is now managed by their daughters. They reveal that eight years earlier, a man named Frank Parris was murdered at their hotel in a brutal hammer attack. The crime occurred on June 15, 2008, the same day their daughter Cecily got married at the hotel. A Romanian maintenance man,

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