Professor Leonidas Witherall is on his way home after completing a trip around the world. He is looking forward to seeing the new home he had built while he was travelling.

His trip home, via train, has a few hiccups. He watches a woman hide a suspicious package in a trash container. He is knocked unconscious and kidnapped. He meets a very verbose young man who seems to follow him to his home.

When Witherall arrives at his new home, he is surprised at the new abode. It is very different from his original concept from looks to amenities to the dead body of Miss Medora Winthrop, in his garage.

Rather than call the police in about the body, Cassie, Price, good friend and person who oversaw the construction of his new house, convinces Witherall to solve the mystery himself. The hardest part is keeping the body from being discovered by anyone else! It seems while the house was being built, it was quite an interesting thing and a number of keys had been given out so tours could be led through the construction.

Written in 1939, it is a fun, light read, yet there are quite a number of twists and connections to untangle. ( )

A Foul Play Press book ( )

Another of the mysteries written by Phoebe Atwod Tayklor under the name Alice Tlton about Leonidas Witherall, aka "bill Shakespeare" becuse he looks like him) a retired prep school English teacher. By the tie of this story, Witherall is settled in a small Massachusetts town and embroiled in the local politics as well as murder and an attractive young couple, ( )