Henry Gamadge, bibliography expert, is asked by Avery Bradlock to examine and value the correspondence by Avery’s late brother. Gamadge’s visit to Bradlock introduces him to the unusual circumstances of the brother’s death and the behaviour of the widow. Stories don’t add up and some behaviours seem suspicious.

The family is not very close. In fact, the space the widow lives in seems to be shut off from the main family home. There is the fact that the widow is so secretive about her husband’s death by murder. Why was the husband out so late the night of his murder? Where were they getting the money to live on if this poet/writer hadn’t written anything new in the last few years?

Gamadge is known for his expertise on books, but he has become more known for his success in solving murders. This mystery is right up his alley.

Elizabeth Daly’s books were written in the last of the 1940s to 1950s and are in the vein of Christie and Sayers. One of my favourite eras. ( )

I was interested in this story because it involved a (real) missing work by Chaucer, The Book of the Lion, but as I recall I was disappointed by the result. ( )