1987; St. Martin's Press publishers, New York; hardbound in red textured boards with bold silver stamp lettering along spine; very good condition with unmarked pages; dust jacket very good.
 
Plot -
Rosa Epton, whose elderly client Vernon Gray has disappeared from his comfortable apartment along with Janet Berry, the latest in a long line of housekeeper-companions. What's found in the apartment is a man's body and some enigmatic photos and records that throw little light on Gray's past. Rosa, much involved in the defense of Philip Tresant--accused of theft, heretofore a respected citizen and churchgoer--does what she can to explore Gray's history, with little success.
 
His body is washed ashore days later; and soon after, Janet Berry and her ex-con husband are found and arrested. Through all this, the dead man in Gray's flat remains unidentified. It takes some sharp memories, a nosy neighbor, and Rosa's determined sleuthing to bring past and present together in a rational solution to the puzzle. Quietly absorbing middle-level Underwood, with some nicely done minor characters but this time a slightly colorless Rosa Epton.