About the book

Hugh Hildebrand has barely begun a friendship with his distant cousin Francis Hildebrand Graeme when news arrives of Graeme's death. A visit to the family's Maryland estate draws the young Philadelphia lawyer into relationships shaped by inherited wealth and an old division between Northern and Southern branches of the family. Graeme's daughter Betty and niece Eunice give Hugh personal reasons to remain interested, while apparently settled explanations of the death invite closer examination. Sutphen combines a country-house mystery with courtship, family rivalry, and the practical problems of discovering what happened on a secluded property. Hugh must learn how the estate's people and places fit together before he can decide which appearances deserve trust and which conceal a more dangerous purpose.

Family inheritance
Appearance and evidence
Trust and rivalry

Why read it

The estate's family history gives the detective plot personal stakes beyond the solution of a puzzle.

English Harper & Brothers text with the 1922 copyright

Contents and reading sections

About the book

Why read it

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