Mark East, the detective, is hired by Mr Stoneman, a winter guest in a snowbound house in the New England highlands. But there's been a mistake: Mr Stoneman actually wanted a secretary. Or did he? There are rumours of violence, mysterious behaviour on the part of the other guests. First one servant dies: then another. Two small girls are threatened. But it's only after the third murder that East begins to see daylight.
I start with a prejudice against books in which threats to children are used as entertainment. As a parent myself, I'd rather read something else. Putting that aside, though, it's clear that Lawrence is trying hard here to force the classic detective story into the mould of the traditional novel. It's a brave effort and she manages to come up with something which is fairly clued and moderately interesting as detection. On the negative side, though, it is far too long at 234 pages, there are far too many rambling pointless conversations, and the children around whom the whole thing turns are mostly off-stage and very unconvincing when they do appear. East is remarkably successful at making friends and radiating confidence, but it takes him a heck of a long time to achieve a solution. Some of the big 'surprises' fall flat (What has he got in the box? Oh, it's a dictaphone.), and the denouement is pure ham.
I gather that after this debut Lawrence's books became less about detection and more about psychology. If she had gone the other way I might have taken the trouble to follow her, but as it is... another promising detective writer spoilt.
Jon.
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