Return To The Scene by Q. Patrick

Holding the tension until the very last moment, this engaging mystery is from Q. Patrick, also known as Patrick Quentin and Jonathan Stagge, which are all pseudonyms of the writing group of Hugh Wheeler, Richard Webb, Martha Kelly, and Mary Aswell. While their books were mostly written by Wheeler, this has a distinctly feminine touch, to its credit.

Kay Winyard returns to Bermuda after three years to stop a wedding. Her niece Elaine is due to marry wealthy Ivor Drake, a man she was once engaged to. Kay called that off when she found Ivor was also engaged to Rosemary, a woman he married after Kay left, and who was hounded to death by Ivor's controlling ways. Elaine's parents, Maud and Gilbert Chiltern, have moved into Ivor's vast estate for Gilbert's health, now wheelchair-bound after a paralytic stroke and tended to by a nurse, Ivor's spinster cousin Alice. Gilbert remains the lawyer for Ivor's estate, but the Chilterns have little money of their own, and Ivor delights in having them under his thumb. There is also their young son Terry, who is sweet on Simon, the redheaded daughter of the neighbors, who is blindly in love with Ivor. The estate has several houses, a private beach, and a guest house on an island. Boatman Don Baird takes care of all that and guesses Kay is there to disrupt the wedding; she brought Rosemary's private diary detailing Ivor's mistreatment. Don approves as he is in love with Elaine. The night Kay arrives, Ivor is found drowned beside a beached boat, bludgeoned in the head, with a rope twisted around his feet. Everyone begins by lying about where they were, making it difficult for authorities Major Clifford and Dr. Tim Thorne, Police Coroner. As they continue to lie, each afraid the other is the killer, they begin to confess to protect each other. Dr. Thorne bands with Kay to discover the truth, although he was also in love with Rosemary and hated Ivor's arrogant power, making him another strong suspect. The only clues: a torn bathing cap clutched in Ivor's hand; struggle marks on the sandy beach; Rosemary's missing diary; a ripped and bloodstained white satin dress, and a mess of blackmail concocted by Ivor.

Ivor was a despicable man and dangerous to cross; they all knew it was true. With each of them filled with a hatred enough to kill, those halcyon summer days filled with warm coral sand and milk-soft breezes could carry the sickeningly sweet scent of oleanders... or death.

Also published as Death In Bermuda and serialized as The Green Diary, this has been republished and is widely available.

1940 / Hardcover / 324 pages

My other reviews for this author:

The Follower by Patrick Quentin

Turn Of The Table by Jonathan Stagge