The Empty House

by Michael Gilbert

Published 1 October 1978
The blue Vauxhall was seen going up the track to the Devon cliffs until it was obscured by a clump of trees. But the noise of it going over the edge was unmistakable and final, and at Rackthorn Point the sea holds on to its trophies. Dr Alex Wolfe is presumed dead as a result of this tragic accident. But how certain can one be when there is no possibility of recovering a body; and when the missing man is a vitally important geneticist at a Biological Warfare Research Station, and when he's a man who only recently took out a life insurance policy? Peter Manciple, an insurance investigator, is sent down to investigate - but Peter finds more questions than answers.