A storm strands nine guests on a small Greek island — “[l]ike in some Agatha Christie novel” — and everyone is shocked when one of the group is found dead in a hut on the beach. Thankfully, one of those present is the actor Ormond ‘Hopalong’ Basil, now an ageing and fading presence, but best known for what is seen as the representation of Sherlock Holmes on the screen in 15 films. With the police unable to reach the island until the storm dies down, might Basil be convinced to investigate the crime? Given “the powerful force that fiction can exert on the human psyche”, it would certainly make everyone feel a bit happier to know that something is being done…