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The Cape Cod Mystery
  • Published: 27 October 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804999462
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $24.99

The Cape Cod Mystery

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A gripping, entertaining murder mystery that launched the career of one of America's greatest Golden Age crime writers – the perfect beach reach for the summer.

The summer holiday becomes a nightmare in this classic murder mystery, set during a heatwave.

'Phoebe Atwood Taylor can get more fun into a detective story than any writer at present producing books of this sort' – New York Times

Meet Asey Mayo, Cape Cod’s answer to Sherlock Holmes, a Jack-of-all-trades who uses his worldly knowledge to solve the most puzzling crimes to strike the peninsula.

A massive heatwave is scorching the coast. A journalist is found murdered in the cabin he’s rented for the season, and the summer holiday becomes a nightmare for the local police. They believe that beloved local businessman Bill Porter is the murderer – it’s up to Asey Mayo to prove him innocent and find the true killer.

Praise for The Cape Cod Mystery:

'Delightful, light, witty and vivacious' – Chicago Tribune

'Asey Mayo possesses more common sense and personal charm than any other detective in fiction' – Times Literary Supplement

'The real atmosphere of the Cape is here' – Boston Globe
  • Published: 27 October 2026
  • ISBN: 9781804999462
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $24.99
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About the author

Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1909-1976) was one of the most beloved and most successful mystery authors of the 1930s and 1940s, writing under her own name and two pseudonyms, Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. The Asey Mayo character, first introduced in The Cape Cod Mystery, went on to star in 24 novels in a series informed by the author’s generations-long family history in Cape Cod.
PAT

Praise for The Cape Cod Mystery

'Phoebe Atwood Taylor can get more fun into a detective story than any writer at present producing books of this sort.'

New York Times

'Delightful, light, witty and vivacious.

Chicago Tribune

'Asey Mayo possesses more common sense and personal charm than any other detective in fiction.'

Times Literary Supplement

'The real atmosphere of the Cape is here.

Boston Globe