An ingenious puzzler enlivened by a sociable ghost, a doctor with a tiger’s-eye ring, and a pair of spinster ladies equipped with spyglasses.

Stephen Carter, the capable lawyer-sleuth familiar to Miss Long’s fans, once again matches wits with his brother Jefferson, district attorney, as they go on the crime trail. Stephen was introduced to the Marsden ease when old Mrs. Marsden called him in to draw up a new will, which disinherited both her grandchildren. Ralph, her grandson, was particularly anxious to prove that the old lady was subject to hallucinations and therefore incompetent—but Ralph was murdered before the will could be broken.