The Left Leg

Leonidas Witherall Mystery #4

by Alice Tilton (Pseudonym), Phoebe Atwood Taylor

It's a winter day in Dalton (a New England town near Boston) and Leonidas Witherall, "the man who looks like Shakespeare", is stepping off a bus after having been accused of bothering a beautiful young woman in a scarlet wimple (who promptly becomes known as the Scarlet Wimpernel). He takes refuge in a hardware store run by a former student, Lincoln Potter. Potter is inclined to be helpful, until the Wimpernel's purse is discovered in Witherall's pocket and Witherall is incautious enough to admit that he saw Potter's cash register being emptied by a man in a green satin suit carrying a small harp. He heads for the home of a former teaching colleague, Marcus Meredith, and finds him murdered--and missing his artificial left leg. Potter is enlisted by Witherall for help in solving the murder, along with intrepid housewife Topsey Beaton. Together they deceive an entire rummage sale, enlist the Scarlet Wimpernel to play a role, find the man in green satin, locate the left leg, and solve the murder.

Genres: Mystery

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

A pseudonym used by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Reviews

[Chazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It started with Leonidas Witherall being kicked off a bus in Carnavon Four Quarters due to an uproar created by the blonde woman in the scarlet coat and scarlet wimple. Left in slushy winter weather, he still needed to get home to Dalton. A taxi would be the solution. A former employer lived in town, so maybe he could help.

When Witherall arrives at the employer’s home, it is to find the man dead and half of his left leg missing! Things get stranger and stranger…

While looking for a way home, and trying to find out who murderer is, Witherall runs into a man dressed as a Leprechaun, complete with tall green hat and gold harp. Then the matter that the local cops are looking for him as a robbery suspect.

Befriended by some locals, it becomes a madcap adventure to try and solve the case. Another in the series of Leonidas Witherall mysteries. It doesn’t disappoint!

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A preposterous plot where the murderee is almost incidental to all the other comings and goings. The author conveniently does not deal with the consequences of hitting two or three (!) police officers over the head, gagging, tying them up and and hiding them in a closet. All is in deference to unraveling who the real murderer is and presenting that person to the law, fait accompli. Presumably all is forgiven, therefore. Diverting escape reading.

[Laura Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

A screwball comedy of a book, I pictured William Powell gathering friends and minions in the vein of the Marx brothers, Alice Brady and Carole Lombard in a chaotic adventure revolving around a dead body. Does it makes tons of sense? No, but it’s a fun ride!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun read from my collection.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's bad enough that someone has killed Leonidas Witherall's best friend; it's even worse that he's trying to frame Witherall for the crime. As the man who looks like Shakespeare and answers to Bill wanders the wintry streets of a Boston suburb, he encounters a hardware store owner, a man wearing a green satin suit, a muscular rector, and a grande dame who's running a rummage sale and a lecture series at once. He's the only one who can make sense of the strange events and pin the crime on a heavily-alibied suspect.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was frenetic. Really, really frenetic. It was hard to follow at times. It was an okay story that starts with Leonidas Witherall getting off a bus and being told never to return. Apparently, he was accused of hitting on a young woman (when in reality, the young woman was hitting on him!) This leads to accusations of Leonidas being a purse thief, a cash register thief, an auctioneer, and even a murderer. A fast, fun read but a little too over the top.

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had to be one of the most convoluted stories ever - not the murder - it was plain and straighforward, but how the characters (who kept changing names like hats) came to the solution was incredibly involved.

It was written in the 1940s and I don't think anyone could get away with that stuff today.

[Meredith VanOordt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly.

[Denise M.]

AKA: Freeman Dana, Phoebe Atwood Taylor

[Regine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Screwball.