Death by Sheer Torture

I'm trying to remember how I came across this book -why I bought it to begin with.... Well, I've nosed around a bit and can't track it back.

At any rate, I'm glad to have found Robert Barnard's Perry Trethowan series. They are told in the first person by a British police inspector whose life of normalcy belies his eccentric family history.

From the back of the book:

Even though policeman Perry Trethowan severed all ties with his father a long time ago, the embarrassing circumstances surrounding the old man's demise are certain to make him the laughingstock of the police department. And then his supervisor suggests the unthinkable -that he return to his ancestral home for the funeral and get the goods on his family.

The characters have real personalities, and I got a kick out of the family interactions and Perry's handling of the situation. I'll definitely read more in this series as I come across them.

update:

I remember now how I came across this book: It is on the list of 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century as selected by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's online members.