| Geoffrey Grey has been in prison for a year, convicted of killing his uncle, James Everton. Hilary Carew, his wife Marion's cousin, has a encounter on a train with one of the principal witnesses against him, Mrs Mercer, who seems regretful, distressed and deathly afraid of her husband. Hilary suspects she was coerced to lie at the trial, and impulsively decides to investigate. She begins with the trial transcripts.
Geoffrey claimed he had found his uncle dead in his study and picked up a pistol from the floor. Mrs Mercer, Everton's housekeeper, testified she had seen Geoffrey with the pistol only seconds after hearing the fatal shot. Geoffrey's motive was alleged to be anger that his uncle had changed his will, cutting him out. Since Everton's new heir Bertram and everyone else involved had good alibis, the case was open and shut. Hilary interviews Mrs Thompson, the deaf neighbour, and Mrs Ashley, the daily help, but they only confirm the case against Geoffrey. Then Mr Mercer waylays her and tries to convince her his wife is out of her mind. Hilary goes to her still-smitten ex-fiancé Henry for help, and finds that Bertram has been saying the same thing to him. The coincidence seems suspicious. Anxious to speak to Mrs Mercer again, Hilary tries to track her down, but narrowly escapes being deliberately run over. Meanwhile Henry, though still sceptical, has engaged Miss Silver, a professional sleuth. Highly efficient despite her prissy manner, she quickly uncovers irregularities in the Mercers' marriage, and solves the mystery of the changed will. Her next step is to break the seemingly solid alibi of the guilty party. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Somewhat obvious Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50% Misc. Murder Plotlets - butler provides unemotional service - "All in the family" murder - solving long-past murder - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 0 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK City? Yes City: - London Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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