''Sandbar Sinister'', first published in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

, is a detective story by

Phoebe Atwood Taylor Phoebe Atwood Taylor (18 May 1909 – 9 January 1976) was an American writer of mystery novels, who was born and died in Boston. She graduated from Barnard College in 1930 and married surgeon Grantley Walder Taylor in December 1951. Phoebe Atwood ...

which features her series detective Asey Mayo, GoodReads website, ''Asey Mayo Cape Cod Mystery Series''
/ref> the "Codfish Sherlock". This

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

is a

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

of the type known as a

whodunnit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer ...

Plot summary

The picturesque village of East Pochet in

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

is not its usual self when Elizabeth Colton drives into it; the previous evening, a bootlegger dumped two hundred cases of liquor offshore, and the whole town reaped the windfall. At some point during the boozy celebrations, however, a bearded mystery writer ended up dead in the boat house at the Sandbar estate. Asey Mayo must figure out the comings and goings of a number of interested parties before he puts together the meaning of a mysterious fire in the living room and a tube of

salve A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the skin. Medical uses Magnesium sulphate paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters. Black ointment, or Ichthyol Salve, also ca ...

and solves the crime.

References

1934 American novels Novels by Phoebe Atwood Taylor Novels set on Cape Cod and the Islands W. W. Norton & Company books {{1930s-mystery-novel-stub