Decidedly More Deadly

'Decidedly More Deadly" is a mystery with a hint of the British cozy, but it is mainly an American detective story. The wife of a prominent physician was found both stabbed through the heart and shot through the head. The shot to the head was administered postmortem. The body of a second woman was also found. She held a pistol, but it had not been discharged. The solution to this mystery takes our detective, Ignatius M. Goode, from Louisvile through Chicago, Indianapolis, and Merida, Mexico. Along the way he must deal with an obsequious doctor/client; a sinister businessman/syndicate boss; a number of suspect/witnesses; and a fleeing co-conspirator. Periodically, he seeks the advice of his old mentor, the cerebral Professor Dillan, who approaches cases as intellectual exercises. In the end, justice may have been served, but the reader will have to decide that. The development of the mystery is in nine parts: Conundrum; The Killer-of-the-Already-Dead; The Smell of Death; The Third Man, Kraftsmanship; Unsave Haven; Unreasonable Doubt; The Avenging Angel; and The Good Father Goode on Doing Good.