While the Patient Slept — Mignon G. Eberhart

The “timing and gothic atmosphere are second to none” in this classic mystery where “the suspense steadily builds . . . until the satisfying denouement” (Publishers Weekly).

From the moment nurse Sarah Keate arrives at the gloomy mansion of Adolph Federie, she senses trouble afoot, from the mysterious occupants of the house to the penetrating stare of a black cat named Genevieve. But Mr. Federie has just suffered a stroke and needs a live-in aid and Sarah is not one to shirk her duties.

When a murder occurs in the same room as her patient, Sarah starts investigating along with the help of a local police officer. But how will she sleep at night knowing she's sharing a house with a killer?

“This is Mrs. Eberhart's second mystery story, and it is even better than her first.” -- The New York Times

“A first rate thriller. Federie House, with its sombre ruggedness on an almost deserted road, with its mysterious turrets, its darkened draperies, its heavily carpeted floors, and its sinister occupants, is an almost perfect setting for a mystery story.” -- Saturday Review of Literature

“[While the Patient Slept] places detective fiction on a higher level than ever before.” -- Bookman

“Eerie it is, as eerie can be, and a good yarn to boot.” -- Outlook