It begins for Basil 'Banger' Peyton-Crumbe the day he dies in a pheasant-shooting incident. A tragic accident, thinks the local constable, but Banger's gundogs and Buck, the police dog, exhibiting a level of intelligence vastly superior to that of their owners, suspect murder.

Poacher turned gamekeeper may be one of the oldest plots in fiction, but Guy Kennaway gives it a sharp and playful new twist in this comic novel of country sports, murder, intrigue and talking pheasants. 'Eccentric and anthropomorphic... I loved it. It's high spirited, subversive and full of wry social observation and excellent jokes' "Daily Mail"