The Maxwell Mystery — Carolyn Wells

Guests gather at Maxwell Chimneys, the stately home of Alexander Maxwell, for a weekend of picnics and charades. During a dance party, Alexander's nephew Philip Maxwell is murdered. The murder weapon is quickly located in the hand of an unconscious woman lying next to the corpse, who has been shot in the shoulder. A local detective is hired and is aided in his investigation by one of the guests, Mr. King. Everyone is a suspect and the clues shift to implicate one guest and then another. Ultimately, the amateur sleuths call in the famous detective Fleming Stone to solve the pieces of the puzzle.

The Maxwell Mystery marks the debut of franchise character Detective Fleming Stone.