The Norths Meet Murder — Frances Lockridge; Richard Lockridge

A sophisticated 1930s Greenwich Village couple finds an inconvenient body in their upstairs bathtub in the first installment of an “excellent series” (The New Yorker).

Jerry and Pamela North's upstairs apartment has been empty as long as they can remember. It's an ordinary Greenwich Village abode, and the Norths are ordinary Villagers -- which means they can't bear to go more than a few days between cocktail parties. So when Pamela decides to stage a soiree in the empty apartment, Jerry goes along begrudgingly. But what seems inconvenient becomes felonious the moment they find a dead man in the tub. He has been bludgeoned, stripped naked, and left to rot. The party is most certainly off.

Which neighbor was rude enough to leave a body in the upstairs tub? Though they should know better, Mr. and Mrs. North can't resist getting involved. Before they know it, they're right in the thick of a manhunt, and Greenwich Village will never be the same.

The Norths Meet Murder is the 1st book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.