''The greatest Scottish novelist of modern times . . . She was peerless, sparkling, inventive and intelligent - the crème de la crème.'' Ian RankinOne October evening five London couples gather for a dinner party, enjoying ''the pheasant (flambe in cognac as it is)'' and waiting for the imminent arrival of the late-coming guest Hilda Damien, who has been unavoidably detained due to the fact that she is being murdered at this very moment.With an introduction by Ian Rankin.Symposium is Muriel Spark - one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century and author of classics including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - at her wicked best. ''A rich, heady, disturbing brew.'' Lorna Sage''Extremely clever and highly entertaining.'' Penelope Lively''Stiletto-sharp fiction.'' Alan Taylor, Scotland on Sunday