Murder in Triplicate

by Hugh Austin

Peter Quint solves, in three hectic hours, the three grim murders that no one could possibly committed.

Lieut. Peter D. Quint, who set a new style in sleuthing in the successful "It Couldn't Be Murder!" faces now his most macabre case.

Three bodies... each one stabbed by a blunt instrument... each one with the tip of the nose sheared off by a sharp instrument... each one murdered to the accompaniment of running water. Murder in triplicate! What secret lay behind this grim mutilation?

The method of murder was mysterious enough, but what particularly baffled Quint was the fact that every member of the household present on the Arnold estate that sultry August afternoon could provide a complete alibi for a least two of the murders. It looked very much as if no one could have committed the crimes, and once this fact became apparent to Quint the case was solved.

273 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1935

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a hot summer day when police lieutenant Peter Quint is called out to a luxurious house where a guest has just been murdered. Only a small party is gathered there--the host's business partners, the wife of one of them, the daughter of another. The short, punchy chapters, each covering only a few minutes, tell of the group's alibis, and the second murder. The strange method of murder, and the mutilation of the corpses, leaves Quint bewildered. He's tempted to arrest several people at different times, but fortunately is able to hold off until he finally figures out what's going on in this small group.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book it was a quick read and did have the feel of real time and a very nasty hot summer day. Can't say more without giving away the goods here on the story, so just to say that it's a procedural that plays fair, you see all you need to see to solve the mystery. Good luck.