The Abbey Court Murder

The Abbey Court Murder, published in 1923, is the first of Annie Haynes's Inspector Furnival mysteries. When a man is found shot dead in a Mayfair apartment, suspicion falls on the beautiful young wife of a prominent politician — who was seen near the scene but refuses to explain why. Inspector Furnival must untangle a web of society secrets, concealed identities, and passionate loyalties. Haynes, a bedridden invalid who wrote her novels from her sickbed, brought a keen understanding of Edwardian social dynamics to the classic detective form, and her plotting is as tight as any of her more famous contemporaries.