When we last saw Ethelred Tressider, he was pulling a disappearing act,
eager to pack in his career as a mediocre mystery-writer, and happy to
leave his (deservedly) long suffering agent, Elsie, holding the bag. But
any bag that Elsie holds will soon be brimful of chocolates, and as Ten
Little Herrings opens, she is tracking Ethelred to a run-down French
hotel hosting a stamp-collectors conference. A murder (quelle surprise!)
ensues, and, as the title (a nod to Agatha Christie's famous Ten Little
Indians) suggests, the whole thing turns into a blissfully funny parody
of classic British crime fiction.