The Book of Murder
by Ron Cowen

THE STORY: Henry T. Aythecliff, a much married and once successful writer, now heavily in debt, summons his three ex-wives to his mansion, his plan being to extort a sizable amount of money from each of them.

He has a secret meeting with each in turn, and when he is discovered murdered, the clues indicate that each of his wives (including his present one) could have done the deed—and had a strong motive to do so.

Patiently and resourcefully, the young detective assigned to the case sifts through the ingeniously devised evidence—until, in a surprise ending, the truth is finally revealed, and the guilty party is apprehended.