Murders in Volume 2

the long version

> “New York at its most charming” (New York Times) is the setting for *Murders in Volume 2*, first published in 1941. One hundred years earlier, a beautiful guest had disappeared from the wealthy Vauregard household, along with the second volume in a set of the collected works of Byron. Improbably enough, both guest and book seem to have reappeared, neither having aged a day. The elderly Mr. Vauregard is inclined to believe the young woman’s story of having vacationed on an astral plane. But his dubious niece calls in Henry Gamadge, gentleman-sleuth, expert in rare book, and sufficiently well bred — it is hoped — to avoid distressing the Vauregard sensibilities. As Gamadge soon discovers, delicate sensibilities abound *chez* Vauregard, where the household includes an aging actress with ties to a spiritualist sect and a shy beauty with a shady (if crippled) fiancé. As always in this delightful series, Gamadge comes up trumps, but only after careful study of the other players’ cards. *Murders in Volume 2*, third in the Henry Gamadge series, was considered by Elizabeth Daly to be the book with which the series truly began.