Westgate Mystery

The Westgate Mystery, first published in 1941, is an intriguing murder mystery set at a Pacific coast estate. As a series of murders take place, the estate's owner, Mrs. Longtree, assisted by a local judge, investigate and attempt to solve who is behind the grisly killings.From the dust-jacket: When Roger Longtree returned to Westgate with Penelope, night-dub singer and adventuress, as his bride, the event reopened old wounds and created new stresses which set off a series of sensational murders. For Roger was the favorite grandson and heir apparent to the fortune of old Mrs. Longtree, affectionately called 'Aunt William,' who tells the story and who ruled over the wealthy and fashionable little Pacific coast community as a dowager queen. Naturally Roger was involved, as were his brother Gilbert and all others in the household, to say nothing of various friends and relatives who came under suspicion and who played their parts in the tangled skein of mystery.But Mrs. Longtree was equal to the emergency and announced a party at Westgate that night to introduce the bride. Penelope never appeared, for she was found in the rose arbor stabbed through the heart. Roger was missing and later gave an incoherent account of chasing an intruder down the bluff. But there were others, too, whose motives were not clear and whose movements that evening were in doubt.So, while the police fumbled and the District Attorney blustered, Mrs. Longtree and the urbane Judge Havoc, family friend and counselor, unearthed clues and dealt with the series of shocks which kept the residents of the bluff in a frenzy of apprehension. As new murders were committed, the case became more and more complicated and the participants more terror stricken.Here is a smooth and exciting story in the Mary Roberts Rinehart tradition, with characters who live as human beings and a plot that will keep you guessing every minute.