Pattern in Black and Red

But for the blistering June heat in Frisbie County, Shadwell Dunn's old mansion would not have known its strangest and most sinister adventure. Three men, of widely differing social stations, would have died in their beds instead of in their boots. And little old Professor Ames, with his wistful eyes and his mop of white hair, would never have mooned his way about those ancient rooms, determined to save the fourth man.

Some murder stories blow hot and then cold, but in this one the excitement never diminishes. Besides the continuous action and suspense, it has a deeper probing into character and a keener perception of psychology than most mystery stories possess. Pattern in Black and Red is recommended as an A-1 psychological thriller.

Pattern in Black and Red was first published in 1934. See more classic mystery reprints at CoachwhipBooks.com.

Faraday Keene was the pseudonym of author Cora (Hardy) Jarrett, born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1877. She was educated in Pennsylvania (Bryn Mawr College), at the Sorbonne, and at Oxford University. She married Edwin Jarrett in 1906, and they had three children. Cora Jarrett went on teach English and Greek. She wrote several well-received novels ("Night Over Fitch's Pond," etc.) and numerous short stories. As one newspaper review noted, "Miss Jarret [sic] signs all of her mystery and short stories with her pen name and her authentic novels with her real name" (St. Petersburg Times, Nov. 30, 1934).