Murder by an Aristocrat

After a murder at the manor where she’s employed, a nurse trades her stethoscope for a magnifying glass…

When Nurse Keate arrives at the Thatcher estate to care for a man with a bullet in his shoulder, she’s told that he shot himself accidentally—but when the convalescing man is murdered soon thereafter, it becomes clear that the only “accident” was his not being fully killed the first time around. A murderer stalks the manor and yet the rest of the family isn’t the slightest bit alarmed; instead, they seem intent on concealing the crime and adding it to the other dark secrets buried deep within their mansion’s walls. Meanwhile, Nurse Keate is passed from one family member to another, each one claiming some spurious ailment requiring her expertise, realizing only too late that the family is anxious to keep her and her knowledge of the crime from leaving the premises. After another apparent murder takes place, she begins to fear that the price of this knowledge may be her life.

A thrilling mystery set in the rarified world of a wealthy Midwestern family, Murder by an Aristocrat renders its pulse-pounding suspense and puzzling crimes with eloquent prose, exemplifying why Eberhart was widely known, in her day, as “the atmosphere queen.” It is the fifth installment in the Nurse Keate series, which can be read in any order.

Mignon G. Eberhart (1899–1996) wrote dozens of mystery novels over nearly sixty years. Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, she published her first novel, The Patient in Room 18, in 1929 and by the end of the 1930s she was one of the most popular mystery writers on the planet. Eight of her books—including Murder by an Aristocrat—were adapted for film; later in her career, she was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America for lifetime achievement.

Introduction by Nancy Pickard. Nancy Pickard is the author of nearly twenty novels, including ten in her Jenny Cain series. She is a four-time Edgar Award nominee and winner of the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, and three Agatha Awards. Her short stories have also won numerous accolades. Pickard has been a national board member of the Mystery Writers of America and president of Sisters in Crime, and she is a member of PEN. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina.