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Palmer (1905-68) was, in his heyday, a very successful writer of mystery fiction. In this novel, first published in 1941, his popular series character, schoolteacher and amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers, is hired as a technical advisor on a movie about the Lizzie Borden murders, which took place almost 50 years earlier. Withers barely has time to get settled in her office before a screenwriter turns up dead. The cops say it was an accident; Withers says it was murder. The Withers novels are not quite comedies, but they're full of wit, always mixed with an engaging mystery. In this case, Palmer's experiences as a screenwriter lend an agreeable air of realism to the proceedings. Rediscovering lost writers can be a hit-or-miss thing: sometimes you come across an author who fell off the map for perfectly obvious reasons, and other times, as with Palmer, you can't figure out why he's so little remembered nowadays. His inclusion in the first round of welcome publications in Otto Penzler's American Mystery Classics series should help change that. Welcome back, Mr. Palmer.--David Pitt Copyright 2018 Booklist

Publishers Weekly
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Originally published in 1941, Palmer's eighth whodunit featuring New York City schoolteacher and amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers, an entry in Otto Penzler's American Mystery Classics series, works best as a Hollywood satire. Hildegarde is on vacation in California when she's approached by agent Harry Wagman, who browbeats her into accepting a job as technical consultant on Mammoth Studios' movie based on the Lizzie Borden case. The gig introduces her to a slew of eccentrics, including producer Thorwald L. Nincom, who considers removing the murders of Lizzie's parents from the story, and left-wing writer Willy Abend, who proposes that the notorious axe murders were motivated by Lizzie's ire at her father's mistreatment of the crews of the Borden family whaling ships. Of course, Hildegarde soon has another homicide to solve-that of Saul Stafford, a writer who expressed his fear of being killed shortly before someone broke his neck. The apparent impossibility of an aspect of the crime hasn't aged well, and the ultimate reveal proves less interesting than the characters and atmosphere. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.