Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Jane Lennox discovers the body of Henry Slocum, an ambitious politician, but when Asey Mayo investigates, the body has vanished without a trace

The first novel from one of the of the most beloved authors of the American Golden Age mystery - the perfect beach read for the summer. 'Asey Mayo possesses more common sense and personal charm than any other detective in fiction.' Times Literary Supplement 'Phoebe Atwood Taylor can get more fun into a detective story than any writer at present producing books of this sort.' New York Times Meet Asey Mayo, Cape Cod’s answer to Sherlock Holmes, a Jack-of-all-trades who uses his worldly knowledge to solve the most puzzling crimes to strike the peninsula. A massive heatwave is scorching the coast, and a journalist is found murdered in the cabin he’s rented for the season. The police believe that beloved local businessman Bill Porter is the murderer – it’s up to Asey Mayo to prove him innocent and find the true killer. 'Delightful, light, witty and vivacious.' Chicago Tribune 'The real atmosphere of the Cape is here.' Boston Globe

The best selling novelist was dead in the summer house.The millionaire was in the pillory in the town square.The village idiot was guarding him with a twenty-foot bullwhip.The bridge champion was under arrest for stealing his own car.The doctor was trying to get everyone in sight jailed for murder.Things were in an unholy mess on Cape Cod -- and Asey Maye had only one weekend to clear it up

When the Cape Cod Players roll into towns along the lower Cape, the locals expect a great show, replete with games, magic, and merriment. Of course, they usually have an audience, too. When Boston widow Victoria Ballard, visiting the Cape to recover from a near-fatal bout with pneumonia, comes upon the troupe near her rural convalescent home, she ascertains that someone has played a nasty trick on the players, sending them to a remote destination in the wild backcountry in search of a paying gig. Sympathetic to the plight of the ragtag group, Vic invites them to stay the night with her, but when day breaks to find the lead magician with a bullet in his head, she realizes the cruel trick that brought the travelers to her home may have been part of a deadly plot--and that she may have been an unwitting participant. Enter Asey Mayo, Cape Cod's answer to Sherlock Holmes. Armed only with folksy wisdom, Cape Cod dictums, and plenty of common sense, the jack-of-all-trades is quick to tackle the puzzling case of the murdered performer. But in order to solve the case, he'll have to confront a curious assortment of clues and suspects odder than any he's encountered in his long career. An amusing and atmospheric mystery set in early 1930s Cape Cod--a region still struggling to reemerge from the Great Depression and at the same time carefully guarding itself against the burgeoning tourism industry--The Mystery of the Cape Cod Players is a delightful Golden Age whodunnit that glimmers with period detail. Anyone interested in classics of the era, or in Cape Cod history in general, will find plenty to enjoy herein.

When the Cape Cod Players roll into towns along the lower Cape, the locals expect a great show, replete with games, magic, and merriment. Of course, they usually have an audience, too. When Boston widow Victoria Ballard, visiting the Cape to recover from a near-fatal bout with pneumonia, comes upon the troupe near her rural convalescent home, she ascertains that someone has played a nasty trick on the players, sending them to a remote destination in the wild backcountry in search of a paying gig. Sympathetic to the plight of the ragtag group, Vic invites them to stay the night with her, but when day breaks to find the lead magician with a bullet in his head, she realizes the cruel trick that brought the travelers to her home may have been part of a deadly plot--and that she may have been an unwitting participant. Enter Asey Mayo, Cape Cod's answer to Sherlock Holmes. Armed only with folksy wisdom, Cape Cod dictums, and plenty of common sense, the jack-of-all-trades is quick to tackle the puzzling case of the murdered performer. But in order to solve the case, he'll have to confront a curious assortment of clues and suspects odder than any he's encountered in his long career. An amusing and atmospheric mystery set in early 1930s Cape Cod--a region still struggling to reemerge from the Great Depression and at the same time carefully guarding itself against the burgeoning tourism industry--The Mystery of the Cape Cod Players is a delightful Golden Age whodunnit that glimmers with period detail. Anyone interested in classics of the era, or in Cape Cod history in general, will find plenty to enjoy herein.

Meet Asey Mayo, Cape Cod's answer to Sherlock Holmes. Settled down from his former life as a seafaring adventurer, Asey is a Jack-of-all-trades who uses his worldly knowledge, folksy wisdom, and plain common sense to solve the most puzzling crimes to strike the peninsula. And in this, his first case, Asey finds himself embroiled in a scandal that will push his deductive powers to their limits.A massive heatwave is scorching the Northeast, and vacationers from New York and Boston flock to Cape Cod for breezy, cool respite. Then a muckraking journalist is found murdered in the cabin he's rented for the season, and the summer holiday becomes a nightmare for the local authorities. There are abundant suspects among the out-of-towners flooding the area, but they ultimately fix their sights on beloved local businessman Bill Porter as the murderer--unless Asey Mayo can prove him innocent and find the true killer. A light whodunnit with an unforgettable amateur sleuth at its center, The Cape Cod Mystery is the first novel from one of the most beloved authors of the American Golden Age mystery. The plot is adorned with insightful historical detail and a healthy dose of Cape Cod local color, making this an enjoyable and enlightening read perfect for a beachside afternoon.

For all its ingenious plot, The Mystery of the Cape Cod Tavern is more than a mystery; it is a genuine New England novel, full of Yankee horse sense, Cape Cod culture, and solid characters. This classic is an apt accomplice for an evening's excursion into the world of crime for Asey Mayo fans and initiate mystery lovers alike.

Leonidas Witherall, Phoebe Atwood Taylor’s “other” detective, inhabits a suburb of Boston named Dalton. One of its most colorful residents, he is the proprietor of a prestigious boys’ school and instantly recognizable by all as William Shakespeare’s remarkable look-alike. Few people, however, know him as “Morgatroyd Jones,” author of the popular and flamboyant Lieutenant Haseltine adventure novels. But like his own fictional hero, Witherall’s outrageous escapades mix slapstick and suspense like no one else’s.

While on leave from the Porter factory, Asey Mayo discovers a murder in the buttery of his Cape Cod home. Mayo's investigation amid the deprivations of the war years—rationing, suspicion, preparedness—is an entertaining encounter with history.

Back by popular demand for the first time in years, The Countryman Press is pleased to reissue four Cape Cod mysteries featuring the witty and salty Asey Mayo, "A local handyman who knows something about police work and everything about everybody's business" (Marilyn Stasio, Mystery Alley). Set within the brooding landscape of Cape Code, these classic who-dunits are sure to please dedicated Phoebe Atwood Taylor fans and newcomer mystery buffs alike. When Asey Mayo happens upon the body of writer Carolyn Barton Boone in an antique railroad car, a punched ticket in her hand, things get interesting. But then the corpse disappears!

Asey Mayo fans, and newcomers, will have much to discover in Death Lights a Candle, with its special New England flavor and Cape Cod characters. As Marilyn Stasio, columnist for the New York Times writes, "Taylor's droll period whodunits are a special treat, thanks to the Codfish Sherlock, Asey Mayo, a salty Cape codger who entertains summer visitors by solving picturesque crimes."

It has been a hard day for Leonidas Witherall. Someone had set him up to be mistaken for a burglar, and the police are now hot on his heels. Hoping for help from his former employer, Marcus Meredith, he arrives to find Marcus’ body on the floor, his head bashed in by a loving cup. What is odd is that the corpse’s left leg is missing. What is odder is that Leonidas’ own rubbers are beside the victim. How he gets out of this jam is a tale that is both hilarious and hair-raising—never predictable for a second. Just as any Witherall fan might expect.

The residents of West Weesit had good reason to start calling Crooked Cliff "Suicide Cliff." Four women's bodies had been found at its foot, Kay Truman's only last month. Her father, Dave Truman, had already been depressed after his wife left him and his business failed. So when the folks at the tea party across the bay saw him come out of his home with a gun and point it at himself, they naturally assumed the gunshot did him in. When it appeared that someone had actually stabbed him in the back with terrific force, however, it seemed time to send for Asey Mayo—who quickly became a ready target himself for a practiced and determined shooter!

An auction that begins as a treasure hunt ends in murder, and an incredible discovery sends our unlikely detective off on a hunt for a killer. Were there secrets between rival art dealers, Miss Pitkin and Mr. Harmsworth? And where does Quin Sharp, the auctioneer, fit in? Here's Asey Mayo in a classic who-dunnitas mysterious and amusing as his fans have a come to expect.