THE CHOCOLATE COBWEB

In this reprint originally published in 1948, Armstrong (1905-1969) deftly inserts a young woman into a family she’s just met in hopes of thwarting a murder.

Amanda Garth and Tobias Thone Garrison were briefly switched in the hospital at birth. In fact, they may have been switched twice, so that the parents both babies were restored to—in Thone's case, noted California painter Tobias Garrison and Belle Garrison—may not have been their birth parents at all. Raised by Kate Garth and her late husband, Mandy’s never known about the mix-up until a visiting aunt spills the beans on her way out the door. Intrigued, Mandy, an art student who hopes to become a fabric designer, pays a visit to the painter’s family, now including Ione Garrison, the wife who preceded and followed Belle, and accidentally witnesses what she’s convinced is a murder attempt, especially in view of the suspicious circumstances aging actress Fanny Austin describes surrounding Belle’s death six years ago. When her attempts to warn the intended victim fall on deaf ears, she can think of only one thing to do: wangle herself a longer-term invitation as a houseguest, offer herself up as a new and improved victim, and pray she can catch the killer in the act before the curtain falls on her own life. A.J. Finn, in her perceptive introduction, praises Armstrong’s decision to limit her cast and dole out revelations in a steady drip. Readers will also appreciate her skill in delicately intensifying the suspense as the characters maintain coolly decorous facades.

Reason enough, if any were needed, for an Armstrong revival.