Originally published: New York : Macmillan, c1983.

Patrick Aldermann, an accountant with a company that makes toilets, is passionate about his roses, which he prunes ruthlessly, 'deadheading' any blossoms a minute past their prime so as to make space for the younger blooms. Not much of a gardener, Dalziel views Patrick as a strong contender for the title of Most Boring Man in Yorkshire. Pascoe, though, has noticed that senior executives at the toilet company 'gentlemen, you might say, just a minute past their prime' have an unlucky habit of dying. And when they do, it's all but inevitably Patrick who, like a lucky young bloom, is poised to take their place.