THE DEAD CAN’T KILL

When six people are invited to a meeting where they will hear something to their advantage, murder isn’t what they expect.

Sally Renshawe agrees to go to the mysterious mansion of the reclusive James Devlin if her aunt Louisa Hooks, a private investigator, accompanies her. When they arrive, they discover that Sally is one of six people mentioned in a will no one has seen. Sally knows of no connection between herself and Devlin, and the other five are hiding the fact that Devlin had reason to hate them all. The mansion is temporarily staffed by a sour couple who do the cooking and an old gardener who had worked for Devlin for years. When the first beneficiary falls off a cliff, only Louisa suspects the death is no accident, but the police come on board only when a second legatee is killed with a poker. Sally and Louisa develop a strong fondness for Albert Forsythe, the gardener, and Millie, the second victim’s put-upon maid. But they’re soon handed more professional responsibilities. The police, who’ve heard of Louisa’s talents as a reader of physiognomy and a generally sharp observer, invite her to help in the investigation. She begins to weave the threads of long-past events to explain the modern mystery.

Mannish, clever Louisa is a heroine in the classic British tradition. Her first whodunit is enjoyable but easily solved.