Poison in Jest (1932)

Poison In Jest, first published in 1932, is a detective story by John Dickson Carr which does not feature any of Carr's series detectives. This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit. One of the characters is Jeff Marle, who had previously served as the sidekick in Carr's Henri Bencolin novels.

Title

The title page quotes from Hamlet, act III, scene 2: King: Have you heard the argument? Is there no offence in't?

Hamlet: No, no! They do but jest, poison in jest; no offence i' the world.

Plot summary

Jeff Marle, is visiting a friend at the Quayle mansion in western Pennsylvania. Although various members of the Quayle household hate each other, all are united in hatred of the paterfamilias, Judge Quayle. A few moments after being introduced to Marle, Judge Quayle collapses after having been poisoned. More than one poison is used in murder attempts in the household; strange shadowy figures are seen prowling the halls at night, and there is a creepy story about a marble hand that was broken from a statue of Caligula which apparently creeps around the house on its own. After the first two deaths, a young friend of the family, Rossiter, takes a hand in detecting, with the aid of Jeff Marle; Rossiter identifies the murderer.