Burgess: Ladies in Boxes

How could it happen that three beautiful women, charming and cultured, should be seen at noon, not only in their gorgeous evening gowns, but only an hour or so before they were found dead, each in her own home miles away? That was the problem which confronted the New York police. And it was solved not by some fictional, impossibly smarty-cat amateur detective, but as read murders are solved—by police methods: careful investigation, intelligence and persistence. Yet solved only after a sensational and intriguing series of mysterious events. Burgess’ distinction in varied fields of literary endeavor guarantees a graphic style studded with originality and sapience.

Review

"Not one but three beautiful women are murder victims in this lively and logical yarn, whose hero is a young inspector of New York’s homicide squad. Burgess writes freshly, avoids most of the cliches of his craft and produces a story that contains both sense and excitement." (1942)