The Innocent Flower — Charlotte Armstrong

A Child's Garden of Murder

“LOOK LIKE THE INNOCENT FLOWER, BUT BE THE SERPENT UNDER ‘T.”

The next-to-youngest of the six lovely Moriarity children was “The Rose of the World” to the famous detective MacDougal Duff. But in the Moriarity house, a young woman was dead -- murdered. And the six children and their serenely charming mother presented a solid front against the rest of the world. Duff was afraid. They were hiding something -- or someone.

This unusual mystery is peopled with frighteningly wise children, a cold, hard woman, a mysterious newspaperman, and a haunted, driven murderer, Among them all moves Duff, baffled and anxious. Trying desperately to understand the situation, confused by his own emotions, he is forced to advance slowly. And when the time for action finally comes, he is almost too late.