A murder occurs within a limited social circle and the central account is delivered in first person by a figure close to the investigation; a famous private detective appears and works from clues and interviews to identify the killer.

A baffling murder in 1920s London brings together an informal club of six armchair detectives who each propose different solutions to the same facts. The novel turns the detective parlor game into its subject, testing how many plausible—but ultimately flawed—explanations can arise from identical evidence.

A mystery told through several first-person documents and witness statements: an artist-teacher becomes entangled with a disturbing female figure and a dispute over inheritance and identity.

Set in late-19th-century London, the novel follows an agent involved in espionage for an unnamed foreign power amid a small circle touched by anarchist agitation. The book traces the effects of political plotting and covert operations on ordinary lives, especially relationships marked by dependency and vulnerability.

Set in 1870s upper-class New York, the novel follows a man caught between an established engagement and an unexpected attraction that threatens his place within a rigid social world.