The Glenlitten Murder was originally published in 1929. From the noted writer of mystery, detective, and spy novels, E. Phillips Oppenheim, this book does not disappoint.
Taking place in England during the 1920s, the main characters are Andrew Glenlitten, sixth Marquis of Glenlitten manor and his lovely, tiny, vivacious French wife, Félice. On the night of a small game hunt, with many of their friends in attendance a mysterious robbery and murder take place.
Félice has a mysterious past and some of the guests are not known to Glenlitten. What transpires over the period after the disturbing happenings at the manor that evening are told in the classic 'whodunit' storytelling method as various characters are exposed to the reader and their true nature revealed.
When De Besset was shot dead in the bedroom of Félice, the Russian-born Marchioness of Glenlitten and the famous necklace disappeared, it was taken for granted that the Frenchman had come to Lady Glenlitten's aid and been murdered by the burglar. But the latter, when caught, disclaimed possession of the necklace and swore he had not carried a gun, and there were reasons for believing him. There were also reasons for thinking that Felice knew much more about the affair than she would acknowledge. There certainly was some mystery about her, apparent even to her adoring husband, and it is to unraveling of that mystery and to the deduction of the murderer that Mr. Oppenheim has brought all his resources.
Who killed De Besset and who stole the necklace? What did Félice fear and how much of the real truth did her husband know or suspect? Mr. Oppenheim's ingenuity in building up a baffling situation is only equalled by his ingenuity in solving a mystery which at first seems unfathomable.
London "Punch" says:
"I advise his publishers to cease from calling E. Phillips Oppenheim "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and boldly claim that he is the King of them."
