The Great Hotel Murder (American Mystery Classics)

The Great Hotel Murder (American Mystery Classics) by Vincent Starrett

When a New York banker is discovered dead from an apparent morphine overdose in a grand Chicago hotel, the circumstances surrounding his untimely end are suspicious to say the least. The dead man had switched rooms with a stranger he met in the hotel bar, where he'd registered under a fake name and invented a story about the purpose of his visit. Adding to the mystery is the fact that he made no effort to contact his wife, who happened to be in town performing in a local show.

Enter theatre critic and amateur sleuth Riley Blackwood, who, at the request of a friend at the hotel, endeavors to untangle the puzzling death as discretely as possible. But despite his efforts, the investigation soon makes a splash among Chicago society, and Blackwood finds that every clue uncovered brings with it another baffling turn.

Vincent Starrett (1866 - 1974) was a Chicago books columnist and one of the world's foremost experts on Sherlock Holmes. A prolific writer, he published numerous short stories and novels across genres and non-fiction.