The Cape Cod Mystery (1931) by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

For many years I have loved Phoebe Atwood Taylor’s 8-book Leonidas Witherall series (published under the penname Alice Tilton), but I must admit I have never quite got hooked on her longer Asey Mayo series. However, Penguin recently included today’s title in its new classic crime series (which distributes crime fiction previously reprinted by American Mystery Classics), and I decided it was time to revisit Taylor’s work. The Cape Cod Mystery is Mayo’s debut appearance. In his introduction, Otto Penzler mentions that this novel ‘sold out its first printing of 5000 copies, an exceptionally strong sale for a first novel during the Great Depression […]’. He furthers adds some background details to Taylor’s sleuth, Asey Mayo: ‘A former sailor who made his first voyage on one of the last clipper ships, Mayo lives on Wellfleet, where he is the handyman/chauffeur for the local tycoon but still finds time to solve an inordinate number of murders.’