Short excerpt: The expression of the secretary's eye stopped me. Without seeming to wander from my face its pupil had suddenly dilated till it appeared to embrace my whole person with its scope.

百万富翁莱文沃斯先生在自己的图书室中离奇身亡：图书室的门由内反锁，室内没有搏斗的迹象，甚至整座宅子的门窗都是锁好的。唯有女仆汉娜不知所踪。各种线索却将嫌疑指向了莱文沃斯先生二位侄女之一。雷蒙德和侦探葛莱斯展开了调查，竟发现两位小姐皆有所隐瞒，案件似乎另有隐情。汉娜为何要离开宅子，又去往了哪里？她是否知道宅中发生的一切？找到她是否就能真相大白？ 阿加莎·克里斯蒂的前辈！柯南·道尔、范达因、埃勒里·奎因等推理大家，无不深受其影响！充盈着浪漫主义色彩的文笔，富有舞台剧张力的对话与画面！本作中的许多桥段和元素启发了后来众多侦探小说，逐渐成为该类型小说的标志。

罗斯•麦唐诺（Ross Macdonald，1915—1983） 罗斯•麦唐纳（Ross Macdonald,1915-1983），本名肯尼斯•米勒，美国推理作家协会终身大师奖、英国推理作家协会金匕首奖，曾任美国推理作家协会主席，公认的冷硬派推理小说名家。 众多研究犯罪、推理小说名家持续不断地探讨其作品的魅力，《纽约时报》书评称他突破了推理小说的类型限制，成功跻身为“一位主流的美国小说家”。知名作家村上春树、劳伦斯•布洛克（著有《八百万种死法》）、斯蒂格•拉森（著有《龙纹身的女孩》）、约翰•康纳利（著有《失物之书》等作家皆在不同的场合向这位前辈致敬，称自己从他的作品中受益良多。

Anthony Galton disappeared almost 20 years ago. Now his aging--and very rich--mother has hired Lew Archer to bring him back. What turns up is a headless skeleton, a suspicious heir, and a con man whose stakes are so high that someone is still willing to kill for them.

Twenty years ago, Anthony Galton vanished, along with his streetwise bride and several thousand dollars of the Galton fortune. Now his dying mother wants him found, and Lew Archer is on the case: is Anthony hiding somewhere, happy and eager not to be discovered? But what Archer finds - a headless skeleton, a clever con and a terrified blonde - reveals a game whose stakes are so...(展开全部)

Twenty years ago, Anthony Galton vanished, along with his streetwise bride and several thousand dollars of the Galton fortune. Now his dying mother wants him found, and Lew Archer is on the case: is Anthony hiding somewhere, happy and eager not to be discovered? But what Archer finds - a headless skeleton, a clever con and a terrified blonde - reveals a game whose stakes are so...(展开全部)

罗斯•麦唐诺（Ross Macdonald，1915—1983） 罗斯•麦唐纳（Ross Macdonald,1915-1983），本名肯尼斯•米勒，美国推理作家协会终身大师奖、英国推理作家协会金匕首奖，曾任美国推理作家协会主席，公认的冷硬派推理小说名家。 众多研究犯罪、推理小说名家持续不断地探讨其作品的魅力，《纽约时报》书评称他突破了推理小说的类型限制，成功跻身为“一位主流的美国小说家”。知名作家村上春树、劳伦斯•布洛克（著有《八百万种死法》）、斯蒂格•拉森（著有《龙纹身的女孩》）、约翰•康纳利（著有《失物之书》等作家皆在不同的场合向这位前辈致敬，称自己从他的作品中受益良多。

Anthony Galton disappeared almost 20 years ago. Now his aging--and very rich--mother has hired Lew Archer to bring him back. What turns up is a headless skeleton, a suspicious heir, and a con man whose stakes are so high that someone is still willing to kill for them.

艾伦·托马斯（1896-1969），出生于英国伦敦，就读于马莱温学院和剑桥，是一名律师兼文学编辑。他早年曾经游历欧洲大陆，1922年到1923年间还曾经环游世界。《电梯谜案》是他的处女作，于1928年在英国出版，1929年在美国出版。这部小说以电梯作为密室的载体，在不可能犯罪题材中颇具特色。

Professor Agostino Glioma murders all six members of editorial board of his journal Shakespeare Studies, but not before each has offered a different interpretation of Hamlet.