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Leonidas Witherall Mystery #3
Cold Steal
Here, once again, "Alice Tilton" embroils her scholarly and erudite (if not always dignified) sleuth, Leonidas Witherall, in enough foul play to challenge his substantial wits to their limit - and beyond. Returning to his Boston suburban home after a trip around the world, Witherall is roped into some very peculiar doings on a train. To begin with, he is knocked unconcious and kidnapped. Then, when he finally makes his way home, he discovered the body of Miss Medora Winthrop in his garage. Even the amazing Witherall is hard put to solve this one.
287 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1939
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 6, 2017
Cold Steal by Alice Tilton (aka Phoebe Atwood Taylor) finds her scholarly sleuth Leonidas Witherall returning from an around-the-world tour to Boston where his brand-new, newly-built home awaits. Known affectionately as "Bill Shakespeare," "Bill," or "Shakespeare" because of his resemblance to busts of the famous playwright, Witherall has a penchant for landing himself in the most bizarre of mysteries. There he is, minding his own business on the train from New York to Boston, when he suddenly finds himself concerned with a mousy middle-aged woman hiding a brown paper parcel (containing a gun and a pair of handcuffs!) and a beautiful redhead who keeps losing a candy-striped lipstick. He gets himself biffed over the head by said mousy woman and entangled with a young man who seems determined to prevent Witherall from reaching his home. Once home he's inundated with strange men who want to trade his brand new red refrigerator for an even "newer, better one" or who want to sell him handfuls of brushes; a Judge and her entourage who insist on seeing his whole house even before he has; a gaggle of women who welcome him with tea; and what seems to be a girl scout convention. Oh...and there's a body in his new car in the new garage...killed with a pick ax from the Chief of Police's collection.
Witherall's friends insist that they must track down the killer themselves. He's all set to overrule them and turn it over to the authorities, until he realizes who the corpse is. Medora Winthrop not only was his closes neighbor--a neighbor who violently opposed to his new house, but an old flame who he sortof jilted. As he says: "I began to realize the possibilities of the situation. Er--'Bearded Swain Slays Former Jilted Fiancee With Police Chief's Ax'" in all the headlines. And so they're off--tracking down a delivery truck, a painter's brush box, some missing money, and a cold-hearted killer...and incidentally helping the most unexpected person get elected as Mayor.
This is another fast-paced, hilarious romp with Witherall and company. It's the kind of silly heavy-on-the-fun and light-on-the-detection kind of mystery that one needs to be in the mood for in order to enjoy. But when you're in that mood--these are delightful. It's like getting on a roller-coaster that runs at top-speed the whole ride and when you come to a stop, you catch your breath and try to figure out if you've still got all the clues with you. Don't expect to have enough to really figure things out logically and you'll be okay. I knew who did it--but I couldn't have explained it with what I had left after the wild ride if my life depended on it. Great fun for an end-of-year read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Witherall's friends insist that they must track down the killer themselves. He's all set to overrule them and turn it over to the authorities, until he realizes who the corpse is. Medora Winthrop not only was his closes neighbor--a neighbor who violently opposed to his new house, but an old flame who he sortof jilted. As he says: "I began to realize the possibilities of the situation. Er--'Bearded Swain Slays Former Jilted Fiancee With Police Chief's Ax'" in all the headlines. And so they're off--tracking down a delivery truck, a painter's brush box, some missing money, and a cold-hearted killer...and incidentally helping the most unexpected person get elected as Mayor.
This is another fast-paced, hilarious romp with Witherall and company. It's the kind of silly heavy-on-the-fun and light-on-the-detection kind of mystery that one needs to be in the mood for in order to enjoy. But when you're in that mood--these are delightful. It's like getting on a roller-coaster that runs at top-speed the whole ride and when you come to a stop, you catch your breath and try to figure out if you've still got all the clues with you. Don't expect to have enough to really figure things out logically and you'll be okay. I knew who did it--but I couldn't have explained it with what I had left after the wild ride if my life depended on it. Great fun for an end-of-year read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
December 3, 2020
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.
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.
August 16, 2021
This was my first encounter with Leonidas Witherall, and I am hooked. Very complicated--strange happenings on a train, strange characters coming and going while doing strange things. Things don't really improve when "Bill Shakespeare" (so-called because he looks like Shakespeare with his beard and all) get to his new home. Not only is there a dead body in a brand new car in the garage (conveniently isolated from the rest of the house), hideously murdered with a pickax, but it seems like everyone in town has a key to this house and think nothing of walking in and making themselves at home. Why didn't they think of changing the locks earlier?! The murderer was totally unsuspected, by me, though it was pretty clear which of the many characters didn't do it. However, eliminating those, there were still a lot of people to choose from.
I only have one criticism, and that is people (Cassie? Could I possibly be thinking of Cassie?) talk too much, and often not to the point! It made me very nervous as it seemed time was a-wasting, and I wanted them all to get on with solving the crisis at hand.
I only have one criticism, and that is people (Cassie? Could I possibly be thinking of Cassie?) talk too much, and often not to the point! It made me very nervous as it seemed time was a-wasting, and I wanted them all to get on with solving the crisis at hand.
October 12, 2020
Alice Tilton is a pseudonym for Phoebe Atwood Taylor. Her mysteries take place on Cape Cod.
July 27, 2022
Wonderful beginning and description of a modern home built in a traditional neighborhood. But the characters and plot were annoying.
September 9, 2019
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September 29, 2015
Leonidas Witherall is returning from a trip around the world, anticipating with much pleasure moving into the new house that has been built for him. But all kinds of strange things are happening around his house, including a dead body in the garage. Can this flummery be disentangled before an unsuitable mayor is elected and Witherall's friend, the police chief, smeared?
January 27, 2014
Haseltine to the rescue! An adventure with plenty of action! Think kidnapping, B&E, egging a general and foiling a national security breach - not to mention George, the horse and the girl, mistaken identity-you have it all!
March 15, 2023
Continued rereading the Witherall mysteries with this entry. It might be my favorite one, what with all the convoluted twists and turns in the story; plus it makes me laugh out loud quite often during the reading.
Want to read
September 24, 2016AKA: Freeman Dana, Phoebe Atwood Taylor
Want to read
September 28, 2018Synopsis: returning home after a trip, Witherall is knocked unconscious and kidnapped. And there's a body in his garage!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews