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"Mignon Eberhart is one of the great ladies of twentieth-century mystery fiction." —John Jakes
There is a lakeside summer colony outside of Chicago where old-money families come to get away from it all and enjoy some fun in the sun on private islands. Sadly, heartache has kept Nan Bayne away from the revelry. Three years ago, her fiancé Jerome Cable dumped her out of the blue and married Celia. But now, Nan is back, staying on Tredinick Island. Meanwhile, Jerome and Celia are on nearby Haven Island, and whether Nan likes it or not, she must soon face her past . . .
When Nan meets Jerome on the beach, he explains he still loves her. Their broken engagement was due to Celia's deception, and he wants to divorce her and marry Nan. When Celia refuses, Nan rows to Haven Island to confront her but doesn't see her anywhere. The next day, Celia is discovered dead in a canoe, and Jerome has vanished.
Celia was a vixen and rotten to the core. Anyone could have wanted to kill her, but Jerome and Nan certainly have the motive. With vacationing detective Jacob Wait now on the case, the two love birds must prove their innocence or else their second chance at love is dead in the water . . .
"Mignon Eberhart's name on mysteries is like sterling on silver." — The Miami News
Originally published in 1937 and also reprinted as Pattern of Murder .
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About the author
Mignon G. Eberhart (1899-1996) wrote dozens of mystery novels over a nearly six decade-long career. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, she began writing in high school, trading English essays to her fellow students in exchange for math homework. She attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, and in the 1920s began writing fiction in her spare time, publishing her first novel, The Patient in Room 18, in 1929. With the follow-up, While The Patient Slept (1931), she won a $5,000 Scotland Yard Prize, and by the end of the 1930's was one of the most popular female mystery writers on the planet.
Before Agatha Christie ever published a Miss Marple novel, Eberhart was writing romantic crime fiction with female leads. Eight of her books, including While the Patient Slept and Hasty Wedding (1938) were adapted as films. Made a Mystery Writers of America grandmaster in 1971, Eberhart continued publishing roughly a book a year until the 1980s. Her final novel Three Days for Emeralds, was published in 1988.
