The Wrong Way Down (Shroud for a Lady)

What begins as a courtesy call on his wife's friend, Miss Julia Paxton, turns into another case for Henry Gamadge, Elizabeth Daly's sleuth and expert in rare books, in this, the 11th book in the series, set in post-World War II New York. Miss Paxton presents Gamadge with a mystery: a framed etching that had always hung in the hallway of the Ashbury mansion has suddenly sprung an inscription dated 1793. Miss Paxton swears nothing had been written on that portrait before the previous Sunday. Did Iris Vance, a relative and professional medium, made it happen? And how? Henry Gamadge is pretty sure the solution to this mystery has nothing to do with the supernatural, but he can't quite make out what it all means. Was it a joke? Petty larceny? Or is something much more dangerous going on, and has Gamadge somehow stumbled onto a criminal conspiracy? An amateur sleuth with an eye for fakes is on the lookout for a murderer in this mystery by Agatha Christie's favorite American author. What begins as a courtesy call on his wife's friend, Miss Julia Paxton, turns into another case for Henry Gamadge, antiquarian book dealer, handwriting expert, and amateur detective. Miss Paxton presents Gamadge with a mystery: a framed etching that had always hung in the hallway of the Ashbury mansion has suddenly sprung an inscription dated 1793. Miss Paxton swears nothing had been written on that portrait before the previous Sunday. Did Iris Vance, a relative and professional medium, made it happen? And how? Henry Gamadge is pretty sure the solution to this mystery has nothing to do with the supernatural, but he can't quite make out what it all means. Was it a joke? Petty larceny? Or is something much more dangerous going on, and has Gamadge somehow stumbled onto a criminal conspiracy? Miss Julia Paxton has a mystery that only Gamadge could solve. The framed etching of Lady Audley had always hung in the hallway of the Ashbury mansion. Miss Paxton remembered it from her girlhood, and she was now a hale and hearty seventy-five. But never in all those years had she seen one word written on the portrait. In fact, none had been there — until after the visit last Sunday of Iris Vance, professional medium. Then the inscription, dated 1793, appeared. But how? Gamadge could tell the writing was genuine, he could even explain its presence without invoking the supernatural... but he couldn't stop Lady Audley's secret from leading to a most horrible murder. "An etching in the Ashbury mansion has suddenly acquired an inscription dated 1793. Miss Julia Paxton knows there was never anything written on that portrait until the visit of professional medium Iris Vance. Are the dead sending messages? And will Henry Gamadge, who is pretty certain the answer does not lie in the supernatural realm, solve the mystery before a murder occurs?"-- Provided by publisher