Roger Scarlett

Dating to the "Golden Age of Mysteries," this book, written by Dorothy Blair and Evelyn Page under their pseudonym Roger Scarlett, features a "locked-room" mystery. Divided into three parts, the first and longest part, called "The Evidence," occurs before readers are introduced to the crime. It seems to largely be designed to become acquainted with the characters, although some evidence is clearly presented in it. The second part, called "The case," includes the murder and investigation. The show more last section is called "The solution" and shows the logic used by the detective in determining the perpetrator. The book included a diagram of the sleeping quarters of the home although it had little bearing on the mystery. It was a strange arrangement for the mystery and became a little tedious at times. Still the mystery itself featured enough red herrings to make it interesting although I suspected the perpetrator from the beginning. show less

Martin Greenough enjoys controlling his household and his grown nephews. Over time these people become fearful, angry, resentful and sly.

This old-fashioned whodunit and its characters are tedious. I wanted to slap someone. I was able to plow through this book possibly because of Kane, Inspector of Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Or because I had loved novels like this at one time. But no longer.