Mark East

Private detective Mark East arrives at Crestwood, an elegant estate, to serve as a private secretary to archaeologist Joseph Stoneman. At least, East is supposed to be a secretary. Mr. Stoneman's nervous manner suggests that he's actually in need of a bodyguard. The estate's other residents-including a troubled hostess who confines herself to her room and a strangely solemn child - contribute to the fearful atmosphere. After a snowstorm completely isolates the estate from outside contact and the occupants start dying under mysterious circumstances, East must identify the murderer before it's too late for the entire household.

Just as he encountered murder while off duty in Blood upon the Snow, detective Mark East once again finds his vacation interrupted by a mystery. Perhaps it was a mistake to return to the same small town. On his last visit, the streets of Crestwood lay buried in snow. This time, blazing heat overwhelms the sleepy resort community. In the cool of evening, locals and summer visitors gather for a church supper. Afterward, one guest fails to return to the hotel, but East refuses to take an interest, reasoning that an attractive young woman might have any number of more interesting prospects. But everyone insists that it's not like Mary Cassidy to suddenly disappear, citing her pleasant ladylike behavior and her kindness to a motherless child. As East's host, Sheriff Perley Wilcox, uncovers further details about the missing woman, the detective gradually becomes more and more drawn into the case until his concern is captured by a grotesque discovery in the town's well. The suspense builds as East investigates Mary's background and learns that the retiring gentlewoman wasn't at all what she seemed to be - and that time is running out for the next victim!

Did she jump or was she pushed? When Ruth Miller's broken body is retrieved from the pavement below her New York City room, everyone assumes that her seven-story drop was a suicide leap - almost everyone, that is. One of the young department store clerk's customers suspects foul play, hiring detective Mark East to take a close look at the boarding house and its residents. Hope House, a Home for Working Girls, provides a haven for young women who are barely scraping by in the Big Apple. But the sanctuary is haunted by Ruth's sudden departure, and after a second violent death, the lodgers begin eyeing one another with suspicion. As the tension builds, East's investigation receives an unexpected assist from Beulah Pond and Bessy Petty, spinsters whose amateur sleuthing adds comic appeal to this atmospheric and suspenseful whodunit.