Unexpected Night

Young Amberley Cowden stands to inherit $1 million on his 21st birthday. If he dies before reaching the age of 21, his money leaves the family. Amberley's health is very poor, though. He had rheumatic fever as a child and it severely damaged his heart. There is considerable doubt that he will live to see his birthday. Despite this, Amberley tries to live as full a life as he can. He decides to go to Ford’s Beach, a resort, because his cousin, Arthur Atwood, is the member of a traveling theater troupe at nearby Seal Cove.

Amberley and his party check into Ocean House, a hotel. Amberley plans to meet up with Atwood and the troupe the following day. However, things don’t quite work out that way. The following morning, Amberley’s battered body is found at the bottom of a nearby cliff. It appears he suffered a fatal heart attack and fell from the cliff – but what was he doing out there so late at night? Was his death really natural or was more there to it? Then there are two more mysterious deaths, one of which occurs right in front of the police.

This is an excellent Golden Age mystery, the first one featuring Daly's sleuth, Henry Gamadge:

"Mr. Henry Gamadge, on the other hand, wore clothes of excellent material and cut; but he contrived, by sitting and walking in a careless and lopsided manner, to look presentable in nothing. He screwed his gray tweeds out of shape before he had worn them a week, he screwed his mouth to one side when he smiled, and he screwed his eyes up when he pondered. His eyes were grayish green, his features blunt, and his hair mouse-colored. People as a rule considered him a well-mannered, restful kind of young man; but if somebody happened to say something unusually outrageous or inane, he was wont to gaze upon the speaker in a wondering and somewhat disconcerting manner."

Henry Gamadge is an author and an expert on rare books and forgery. Gamadge is intelligent, low key, intuitive, and compassionate. He has a knack for getting people to trust him and talk to him, a skill that Mitchell, the police detective, makes great use of during his investigation. In fact, the two end up as unofficial partners, each contributing something to the investigation. Gamadge’s knowledge of documents is an important part of the investigation and leads directly to the solution. The characters’ motives and actions are believable. One of the characters is a little long-winded in explaining his behavior, but it all makes sense. Daly plays fair.

All in all, a very good mystery. If you like Agatha Christie, you might like this, too. Daly was Christie’s favorite American mystery author and for a very good reason.