While motoring to Wilmington, Delaware, to attend a smart week-end house party, three young New Yorkers are warned of approaching trouble when someone takes a pot-shot at their car. Arriving at the large country estate of their host, they hear of the surprise entertainment that is to the the high point in the first evening's fun. An unusual summer house, which has been remodeled from an old spring-house, is the setting but the surprise proves a rude awakening for the hilarious group when they are forced to gaze upon a ghastly scene—two dead bodies realistically arranged. Inspector Grimes, tough but efficient, takes over.

Brutal murder, keen detection and a sophisticated setting make The House Party Murders a clever, fast-moving and ever-puzzling mystery.