Blood upon the Snow

Penguin Books, 1984. Paperback. Good. The novel opens with Mark East's arrival in the small town of Crestwood on a dark, snowy evening, having been hired by the elderly historian Joseph St oneman who is staying with friends, the Moreys, in a remote country house i n the mountains. After making his way up to the house to meet his new emplo yer, Mark is surprised to find that Stoneman believes he is a private secre tary, not a private detective. However, the old man's shaking hands and une asy manner tell Mark that Stoneman knows exactly who he is and what he does . Intrigued, Mark agrees to stay on in the role of secretary for a while, h oping that eventually Stoneman will tell him what is going on and why he ha s secretly summoned a detective. As Mark gets to know the other people living and working in the house, he becomes even more convinced that something is not right. What - or who - are the servants so afraid of? What is wrong with the pale and nervous Laura Morey? And was Stoneman's fall on the cellar stairs a few days before Mark's arrival really an accident? Then a woman dies under suspicious circumstances and suddenly Mark's skills as a detective are required after all.