Sylvia Coldfield - Mrs. Glen Coldfield - had a secret – in fact, a secret she didn’t even know she had. But a powerful enough secret to have led to her husband’s death, officially recorded as an accidental overdose of sleeping pills. A secret powerful enough for her family to keep her locked in an upstairs bedroom in the Coldfield mansion known as The Maples, an estate along the Hudson River north of New York City. A secret powerful enough for the family to hire a nurse to make certain that Mrs. Coldfield had no opportunity to escape or even to communicate with anyone passing by.
But Mrs. Coldfield surprised her family by figuring out a way to get a message to the one person she thought might be able to help her. And Henry Gamadge came up with a plan. And that's why that family secret is no longer a secret - and neither are a couple of murders. It's the story told by Elizabeth Daly, one of Agatha Christie's favorite American authors, in her 1950 book, Death and Letters, starring Henry Gamadge, an expert on old books and manuscripts - and letters. It's the book we're discussing today on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you are welcome to listen to the complete review by clicking here.
Elizabeth Daly wrote sixteen traditional mystery novels, all featuring Henry Gamadge, whose expertise at identifying false books, manuscripts, letters and other antique documents was matched only by his ability to solve unusual and difficult – and often very private – crimes. Including murder, of course. Death and Letters was the fifteenth of those novels. I've always been a fan of hers (since discovering her books some 15 or so years ago). I think readers will discover an author who is expert at delivering the unexpected twist and surprising the reader through expert misdirection. I must admit it’s not my favorite of her books. I think there’s insufficient evidence pointing towards the culprit here. But it’s still an excellent book, and Gamadge, as always, is a wonderful character.
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