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Someone knocked on the office door. Bill Weigand said, "Come in, sergeant." Sergeant Mullins came in.
Mullins said, "This. In his desk."
He held "this" out. It was a key to a Yale lock. It was like any other key, except that it was made of gold.
Bill Weigand looked at it. He put it down on the desk. It glowed there in the light from the desk lamp.
"Thought you'd want to see it, captain," Mullins said. Who'd want a gold key?
Well, it turns out there was something of a history attached to that solid-gold key. And knowing that history would eventually help Lieutenant Bill Weigand - oops, I beg your pardon - , make that Acting Captain William Weigand, Homicide Squad, Manhattan West - uncover the truth about the murder of a lawyer named Forbes Ingraham. Of course, as was often the case, Bill was helped by Pam and Jerry North - or, more formally, Mr. and Mrs. North The full story may be found in A Key to Death, written in 1954 by Frances and Richard Lockridge. It was the 19th in a series of 26 novels about Mr. and Mrs. North, a wildly popular husband-and-wife team, who appeared not only in books but also on radio, in movies, and on television. As a general rule, Bill Weigand actually did most of the detecting, but the Norths - Pam in particular - played critical roles in uncovering the truth about these mysteries. A Key to Death is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you're welcome to listen to the complete review by clicking here.
The Norths always seemed to have a talent for discovering – or finding other ways to become involved in – murder cases. This time, it’s strictly accidental: the Norths have gone to see Forbes Ingraham about drawing up their wills, only to discover that he has been shot, and Bill Weigand, put in charge of solving the murder. It begins when Pam and Jerry arrive for their meeting with Ingraham, in his office– only to discover that he has been murdered. It’s worth noting that in this novel, as in most of the books in the series, Weigand does nearly all the investigating. But Pam North, whose reliance on intuition frequently leads the police to an understanding of the killer’s peculiarities, provides some of the key clues to the solution.
There are hints about labor unrest – an area which Forbes Ingraham had been working on, much to the distaste of some union leaders. But there are also more personal motives to be found in the possible relationships among some members of the law firm. There are also a few cleverly placed observations from Pam North that will move the plot in a surprising new direction in search of a definitive clue. And that may bring us back to that key....
If you enjoy these mysteries featuring the Norths, you are more than likely to enjoy A Key to Death, by Frances and Richard Lockridge.
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