The Horizontal Man

PLOT: When a young teacher at a college for women is brutally slain, a student becomes the focus of the investigation. Her confession seems to clinch the deal. But another student teams up with a reporter when she feels the accused student (who seems to be having a nervous breakdown) didn't kill anyone. Suspects aren't too many in a small group of academics, each with an attache case full of idiosyncrasies and secrets. REVIEW: Certainly an easy book to read, with some well-thought out characters, the story zips along from the murder on page 2. Back when this was written the twist was probably more of a surprise, so I felt a little let down at the very end. Plus I thought a few threads begun in the last chapters were left hanging. Not a masterpiece, but still enjoyable.

Apart from who killed Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, this whodunnit has the best trick on a reader I have ever read. Strangely out of print, the book shows the enormous potential that Helen Eustis had as a writer. I wish she had written more of these enjoyable novels.