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Frances Crane

A witty whodunit set in WWII England starring “one of the more interesting married teams of detectives … A sort of globetrotting Nick and Nora” (Thrilling Detective).

While in England, Pat and Jean Abbott are focused on contributing to the war effort in whatever way they can, but they don’t mind taking a weekend to join some other American expats at the country home of advertising man Steve Hayward and his wife. But before much fun can be had, a body is found on the premises. Pat isn’t so sure that everyone’s impulse to blame the death on a passing drifter or a Nazi spy is the answer—and when the spotlight of suspicion falls on a member of a house party he’s sure is innocent, he starts getting reluctantly involved in the case …

Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries

“Lively and exciting. ” —The New York Times

“Well-plotted and mystifying. ” —Saturday Review

MysteriousPress.com/Open Road

The Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries

The Applegreen Cat

A grande dame is buried—but the truth must be unearthed: “The solution of the mystery is neat and satisfactory, and the story makes pleasant reading. ” —The New York Times

Thanks to an illness in the family, Jean Holly is staying in her hometown of Elm Hill, Illinois, for a bit. Her cousin just happens to live next door to Fabian House, home of Mrs. Lake, the richest and most powerful woman in town. When Mrs. Lake dies suddenly, it’s ascribed to a known heart condition. But Patrick Abbott, passing through Elm Hill on his way to Washington, becomes suspicious when one death is followed by another—this time, the hanging of the Fabian House maid …

Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries

“Well-plotted and mystifying. ” —Saturday Review

“Amusing and sophisticated. ” —The Star (London)

The Golden Box

A marine home on leave from WWII “does a first-class job of detecting” in this tale of puzzling murders and misleading clues (The New York Times).

An injured Pat Abbott is back in New Mexico with his wife, Jean, while he recovers from his war wounds, but he’s still fighting—to find a killer, or possibly more than one.

After one of the couple’s friends, Ray, was found dead at the bottom of a canyon, rumors started swirling. He’d recently shocked the town by bringing a wife home from Hollywood—when he was meant to marry local girl Karen. To complicate matters, Karen’s distinctive amethyst-colored glasses were found in Ray’s abandoned Cadillac convertible. It could have been suicide, but there’s reason to suspect both the not-so-grieving widow and poor, spurned Karen. But soon the widow asks Pat’s help and he and Jean are drawn into a whirlwind of intrigues, jealousies, and motives in this clever whodunit from the Golden Age of Mystery …

Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries

“Amusing and sophisticated. ” —The Star (London)

“[A] well-plotted and mystifying case. ” —Saturday Review

“One of the more interesting married teams of detectives. ” —Thrilling Detective

The Amethyst Spectacles

In this mystery filled with “lively and exciting doings, ” a PI in 1940s San Francisco tries to determine whether a beautiful woman is being framed (The New York Times). 

Corpses have been turning up with yellow violets accompanying them, and the clue seems to point to a Spanish performer who is in town with her dachshund, Pancho. But private detective Pat Abbott suspects the plants were a plant—and now he’s juggling the murders with a missing person case that may involve a fascist conspiracy, even if means postponing his wedding, in this compelling crime novel in the acclaimed long-running series.

Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries 

“Amusing and sophisticated. ” —The Star (London)

“[A] well-plotted and mystifying case. ” —Saturday Review

The Yellow Violet

A PI and his wife just want some fun at the Kentucky Derby—but murder is a horse of a different color …

Private investigator Pat Abbott and his wife, Jean, are looking forwarding to seeing Pat’s old World War II buddy and taking in the splendor of the Kentucky Derby—but they didn’t bet on murder. When Pat’s friend, Dr. Seth Godwin, tells them about the death of one of his patients, a self-destructive alcoholic whose estranged wife is accused of slipping him some cyanide, duty calls once again. The victim’s family despises Jane Mallory—but what looks like a cut-and-dried case grows more complicated when the dead man’s will is read …

Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries

“Lively and exciting. ” —The New York Times

“[A] well-plotted and mystifying case. ” —Saturday Review

“Quite good. ” —The Miami News

Death in Lilac Time

A family gathering and a body on the beach keep the sleuthing couple busy in this tale of “ample suspense, and breathless conclusion” (Saturday Review).

Pat and Jean Abbott are in lovely Laguna Beach, invited to visit some distant relatives at the Black Cypress estate. But the invitation is more professional than personal, since Pat is a PI and family member Enid Ponsonby appears to be targeted by a killer. Whether her disagreeable personality has anything to do with it remains to be seen—but in the meanwhile, the Abbotts will have to untangle multiple mysteries involving a knife thrower, a dead New Orleans gangster, and a tidal wave of potential suspects …

“Skilled and sometimes scary. ” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“One of the more interesting married teams of detectives … A sort of globetrotting Nick and Nora. ” —Thrilling Detective

Black Cypress

A San Francisco couple sorts through scandals to find a killer in this classic mystery starring “one of the more interesting married teams of detectives” (Thrilling Detective).

Pat and Jean Abbott’s new San Francisco neighbors give new meaning to the term dysfunctional family. And now, amid the mess of exes, stepchildren, rivalries, and resentments, there’s been a tragic death—little Lisa, a vulnerable ten-year-old, has fatally overdosed on cough medicine.

When one of the grown daughters of the patriarch, Dr. Alby—who prescribed the narcotic himself—asks private investigator Pat to look into the suspicious circumstances, he and Jean will find that everyone from a heartless beauty to a handsome womanizer may be behind this crime, and that they themselves are in danger of being caught up in a deadly family drama . . .

Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries

“Lively and exciting.” —The New York Times

“Ample suspense.” —Saturday Review

“Nasty characters and clues pointing off in all directions—quite good.” —The Miami News

The Amber Eyes

After a body is found on a Florida fishing boat, a vacationing PI and his wife must cast a wide net …

After Capt. Cy Martingale’s boat is docked in Key West, a passenger is left behind—not just dead drunk, but dead. Pat and Jean Abbott are in town for some rest and relaxation, but the captain is a friend and he wants their help. Unfortunately, what he wants help with is getting rid of the body, since he doesn’t really trust the local police.

Pat Abbott is not about to be an accessory to murder, so he turns to another kind of captain: his friend on the force in New Orleans. They’ll have to debate their theories of the case before they can reel in the killer …

Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries 

“One of the more interesting married teams of detectives … A sort of globetrotting Nick and Nora. ” —Thrilling Detective

“Lively and exciting. ” —The New York Times

“[A] well-plotted and mystifying case. ” —Saturday Review

Murder on the Purple Water

As World War II rages, a newlywed PI must engage in some detection before his deployment . . .

Pat Abbott has put aside his work as a private detective to serve his country as a marine in World War II—though more presently, he’s sneaking in a quick New York honeymoon with his beloved brand-new wife, Jean. But because of the war, many of his old acquaintances are reluctantly returning from Paris—and one of them is now suspected of murder.

Neither Pat nor Jean is overly fond of the expatriate crowd in general—and Jean has a particular dislike for a divorcée whom Pat seems to admire—but Pat believes the accused is a decent sort, and intends to do his part in finding the real culprit . . .

Praise for thePat and Jean Abbott Mysteries

“Amusing and sophisticated.” —The Star (London)

“[A] well-plotted and mystifying case.” —Saturday Review

“One of the more interesting married teams of detectives . . . A sort of globetrotting Nick and Nora.” —Thrilling Detective

The Pink Umbrella

During a stay in Kentucky horse country, a husband-and-wife detective team race to find a killer . . .
 
 PI Pat Abbott and his wife, Jean, are vacationing in Kentucky horse country and visiting Pat’s old friend Rob Murray, who lives there with his sister and daughter. But when Rob’s trainer is found dead, Pat is willing to bet it’s murder despite the local doctor’s verdict of suicide. The quest to find the truth will involve a fainting blonde at the Abbotts’ hotel and some of the more colorful citizens of Lexington in this suspenseful Golden Age classic featuring “one of the more interesting married teams of detectives” (Thrilling Detective).
 
Praise for the Pat and Jean Abbott Mysteries
 “Lively and exciting.” —The New York Times

 “[A] well-plotted and mystifying case.” —Saturday Review
 
 “Nasty characters and clues pointing off in all directions—quite good.” —The Miami News