Hand in the Dark

The war in Europe grinds on, but in this ancient English country house, the lights are bright and the champagne is flowing. A bored young wife throws a party for her London friends: war workers seeking escape, servicemen on leave, and a famous explorer who knows more about jewels than he should. By morning, she is dead on the library floor, a pearl necklace has vanished, and everyone has something to hide. Scotland Yard has its suspect, but the celebrated private detective Colwyn suspects something far more sinister. In this house of mirrors, where every guest wore a mask and every smile concealed a secret, finding the truth means navigating a web of lies that stretches back generations. Rees constructs his puzzle with the precision of a master, layering suspicion among the aristocracy until no one stands above suspicion. For lovers of Golden Age mystery, this is a world where murder wears white gloves and justice moves slowly through candlelit halls.