Mrs. Pittman keeps in a boarding house in the section of Pittsburg that floods regularly every year. This was one of the most interesting settings for a mystery that I've read. Imagine know that every year your bottom story would flood so you would just plan to move everything and everyone upstairs until the water recedes! Hard to imagine in this day and age. You would just keep a boat on the first floor and use it for transport as long as needed. This setting fascinated me and really added to my enjoyment of the whole story.
When one of Mrs. Pittman's boarders disappears and her husband claims she got mad and left town, Mrs. Pittman is sure that he has murdered her and dumped the body in the flood waters. The investigation of the case and the ultimate denouement is far more complex and kept my attention from start to finish of this very quick to read book.
While I love contemporary cozy mysteries, these Old Masters are just a delight to me also. Mary Roberts Rinehart is an author revisiting over and over.
