Cecil Fox, a wealthy man in his 60s living in Venice, hires William as his secretary. William sends letters to 3 of Cecil's friends in order to pull a huge prank upon them. Cecil wants them to think he is dying, and that they may be his heirs. All three come to Cecil's Venetian Mansion. One of the 3 friends is a woman who brings along her hired companion. The story holds up quite well considering it was written in 1955. It has a bit of an Agatha Christie feel to it, with twists, turns and misdirection. The main of the story is dialogue driven, which I normally despise. However, this was a fast engaging read. I need to see if I own more of Sterling's books. A great change of pace for me. ( )

A morbid, if entertaining, look at the attractiveness of evil, money, and death. As a joke, a rich man sends a letter to three people asking them to come to him in his hour of death. They do and then the killing starts. Reminiscent of Highsmith in its moral ambiguity.