In A Pocket Full of Rye, almost the entirety of the action is contained within either the Fortescue family firm’s offices or the family home, Yewtree Lodge. The setting reflects the thematic importance of family in the novel. It soon becomes apparent that Rex Fortescue was poisoned at home, either by a member of his family or household staff, and Neele spends the rest of the novel trying to determine which of Rex’s family stood to gain the most from his death. The novel uses the Fortescues to explore loyalty and the ties that bind family together.

Early on, the novel establishes that the Fortescues are distant from one another—Neele cannot find anyone to notify of Rex’s sudden death. His introduction to the family comes through the housekeeper, Miss Dove, who pronounces that they are “all really quite odious” (35), an opinion Neele comes to share. Adele is delighted by her husband’s death because it means that she will inherit a vast sum of money. Percival neglects his wife and is far more devoted to the family business. He declares that the murder investigation “will all be most unpleasant” but is chiefly concerned with how it disrupts his own life (73).