The Scarlet Letters — Ellery Queen

A TOUCH OF RED

For once Ellery Queen had a simple case. A few days of discreet snooping, some choice advice, and the inimitable sleuth would blithely restore domestic harmony to the tumultuous marriage couple Dirk and Martha Lawrence.

And then came the scarlet letters. First the anonymous epistles linked in red, intimating dark secrets and desperate acts. The symbolic irony of letter, condemning homely Martha as a flagrant adulteress. And finally the cryptic alphabet clue...scrawled in a murdered man's blood.

A simple case? Ellery Queen had been a fool to think so. And unless he did some super-fast sleuthing, he'd have nothing to show for his efforts but a very scarlet face...and a killer on the loose...