Can you murder someone with feathers? If you don’t believe that feathers can kill, then you probably haven’t read one of the 21 mysteries by the two Little sisters, the reigning queens of the cozy screwball mystery from the 1930s to the 1950s. No, Uncle Richard wasn’t tickled to death—though we can’t make the same guarantee for readers—but the hyper-allergic rich man did manage to sneeze himself into the hereafter in his hospital room. Suspicion falls on his nurse, young Miriel Mason, who recently married the dead man’s nephew, Ian Ross, an army officer on furlough. Ian managed to sweep Miriel off her feet and to the altar—well, at least to city hall—before she had a chance to check his bank balance, which was nothing to boast about. In fact, Ian cheerfully explains that they’ll have to honeymoon in the old family mansion and hope that his relations can leave the two lovebirds alone. But when Miriel discovers that Ian’s motive for marriage may have had nothing to do with her own charms, she decides to postpone at least one aspect of the honeymoon, installing herself and her groom in separate bedrooms. To clear herself of Richard’s murder, Miriel summons private detective Kelly, an old crony of her father’s, who gets himself hired as a servant in the house even though he can’t cook, clean or serve. While Kelly snoops, the body count continues to mount at an alarming rate. Nor is Miriel’s hapless father much help. Having squandered the family fortune, he now rents out rooms in his mansion and picks up a little extra cash doing Miriel’s laundry. Originally published in 1944, The Black Honeymoon is filled with tantalizing questions: Who is moaning in the attic… what is the terrible secret in the family Bible… why does Aunt Violet insist on staying in her room… will Kelly get fired for incompetence before he nabs the killer… will Miriel and Ian ever consummate their marriage? Combining the charm and laughs of a Frank Capra movie with the eccentric characters of a George S. Kaufmann play, The Black Honeymoon is a delight from start to finish.     

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