Markham: Death in the Dusk

Alfred Bannerlee, antiquarian, searching for an ancient ruin in the Welsh hills, stumbles upon a manor house hosting a pre-nuptial ‘Bidding Feast’ for an American bride and an Irish groom. Finding the host an old acquaintance, Bannerlee is welcomed as a guest, though the party’s tense atmosphere puzzles him. A guest is missing, and superstitious rumors of an 800-year-old wizard, Parson Lolly, troubles the native help. A death and a storm lay the groundwork for an eerie murder investigation, as Bannerlee’s diary documents the strange events. Death in the Dusk (1928) is a gripping and well-written murder mystery. The author, Virgil Markham (1899-1973), was the son of poet Edwin Markham.