Peter Duluth Mystery Books
A wave of murders rocks a sanitarium―and it's up to the patients to stop them Broadway producer Peter Duluth sought solace in a bottle after his wife’s death; now, two years later and desperate to dry out, he enters a sanitarium, hoping to break his dependence on drink―but the institution doesn’t quite offer the rest and relaxation he expected. Strange, malevolent occurrences plague the hospital; and among other inexplicable events, Peter hears his own voice with an ominous warning: “There will be murder.” It soon becomes clear that a homicidal maniac is on the loose, and, with a staff every bit as erratic as its idiosyncratic patients, it seems everyone is a suspect―even Duluth’s new romantic interest, Iris Pattison. Charged by the baffled head of the ward with solving the crimes, it’s up to Peter to clear her name before the killer strikes again. Reprinted for the first time in over thirty years, A Puzzle for Fools is the atmospheric and complex mystery that first introduced Peter Duluth; the character and his love interest Iris went on to star in eight more novels, two of which were adapted for film.
Duluth's theatrical comeback is threatened by a mysterious curse that seems to haunt his new theater. Members of the cast start turning up dead before the curtain call. This book makes nice use of the charcter's Broadway background. - The Mystery Lover's Companion, Art Bourgeau
In this “fun” mystery from an Edgar Award–winning author, amateur sleuth Peter Duluth learns that divorce can be murder.
Peter Duluth, a Broadway producer and amateur detective, is baffled when his wife, Iris, discovers the body of Nanny Ordway, an aspiring writer he had recently befriended
In this mystery from an Edgar Award–winning author, sleuth Peter Duluth steps in when his rebellious nephew is charged with murder. Patrick Quentin, best known for the Peter Duluth puzzle mysteries, also penned outstanding detective novels from the 1930s through the 1960s under other pseudonyms, including Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge. Anthony Boucher wrote: “Quentin is particularly noted for the enviable polish and grace which make him one of the leading American fabricants of the murderous comedy of manners; but this surface smoothness conceals intricate and meticulous plot construction as faultless as that of Agatha Christie.” Jake Duluth is a man alone. Three years after the suicide of his beloved wife, the wall between Jake and his son, Bill, has only grown higher. Bill’s constant impulsiveness has driven Jake to distraction, while Jake’s constant concern for his publishing business alienates Bill even more. But when Bill is accused of murdering Jake’s business partner after falling in love with the man’s much younger wife, Jake has no choice but to believe his son and call in someone with much more experience in such sinister matters—his brother, Peter. Now, with Bill’s life at stake, Jake and Peter must follow a trail of secrets and twisted loyalties if they are going to uncover a culprit neither could have ever imagined.
The first collection of many of these stories featuring Peter and Iris Duluth. The collection includes an introduction by Curtis Evans, and an afterword by Hugh Wheeler's great-niece.