6 h 18 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 18 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Behind the smiling faces of Washington society, murder turns good manners into a reason for doubt.
In The Red Seal, Natalie Sumner Lincoln brings a murder mystery into the drawing rooms and official circles of Washington, D.C. A crime gathers a circle of suspects from polite society, and the search for truth asks you to look beyond the faces people show the world.
Disguise and hidden secrets give this puzzle its pull. Who is what they seem, and what lies behind a polished appearance? Lincoln's measured style makes room for dialogue, deduction and atmosphere. The pleasure is in watching closely, weighing what people say, and deciding how much their manners really tell you.
What you’ll discover
- A polished social world Enter the capital's drawing rooms, where social life gives the mystery its distinctive setting.
- Secrets beneath the surface Look past smiling faces as the search for truth unsettles a circle of suspects.
- The uncertainty of disguise Let the promise of concealed identity sharpen your doubts about appearances.
- Room to weigh clues Enjoy a measured mystery that favours dialogue and deduction over fast violence.
- An older detective tradition Discover the atmosphere of early American crime fiction through Lincoln's Washington social world.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy classic whodunits with fair clues, society drawing rooms, twin sisters, secret loves, and a detective chase through the Washington of the 1920s.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A burglar's arrest ends in death
- The McIntyre household hides its worries
- Darkness, a struggle, and a handkerchief
- A sealed envelope and a strange inquest
- Suspicion falls on a missing partner
- Money vanishes and a laugh is remembered
- Lights fail, handcuffs are left empty, and a box of pills appears
- Appearances deceive almost everyone
- How the mystery is built and told
Who’s who
- Harry KentA young lawyer who loves Barbara McIntyre and tries to clear a dead friend's name before Colonel McIntyre's deadline runs out.
- Helen McIntyreThe elder twin, shy and loyal, who calls herself Jimmie Turnbull's fiancée and demands an autopsy to learn how he died.
- Barbara McIntyreThe livelier twin, who made the wager that started everything and now wants the truth about Jimmie's death.
- Colonel Charles McIntyreA wealthy retired manufacturer who dotes on his daughters, dislikes Kent, and wants his missing securities found quickly.
- Margaret BrewsterA young California widow, charming and watchful, who is staying with the McIntyres and has secrets of her own.
- Detective FergusonA sharp, stubborn Central Office detective who believes Philip Rochester poisoned his roommate and means to prove it.
- Philip RochesterKent's senior partner, a clever, careless lawyer who defended the burglar in court and then disappears.
- Benjamin ClymerThe precise president of the Metropolis Trust Company, who sees his cashier die and tries to keep the bank's good name.
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 18 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 15 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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El sello rojo
by Natalie Sumner Lincoln · 1922
A bank cashier in a burglar's disguise dies in a Washington police court, and a red seal marked B holds the clue.
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In short
The Red Seal is a detective novel by Natalie Sumner Lincoln, set in Washington soon after the First World War. It opens in a police court, where a wealthy young woman has just had a burglar arrested in her own home.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A burglar's arrest ends in death
The story begins in a Washington police court. Benjamin Clymer, president of the Metropolis Trust Company, has just finished speaking as a character witness in a quarrel between a husband and wife. As he steps down, his friend Philip Rochester, a lawyer, pulls him aside and asks whether Miss Helen McIntyre has been in. Clymer says no. Then Helen walks up the aisle with her twin sister Barbara and their family doctor, Amos Stone, and every eye in the room follows them.
Helen has come to charge a man with housebreaking. She tells the court that she was waiting up for her sister in the early morning, went down to the library, and saw a man slip into a coat closet. She turned the key on him, ran to the window, and called to Officer O'Ryan, who was standing under a street lamp. The prisoner gives his name as John Smith. He wears a frayed collar and a threadbare suit, and he has no lawyer, so Rochester offers to defend him.
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What is The Red Seal about?
It is a Washington detective novel about the death of a bank cashier disguised as a burglar. A young lawyer, Harry Kent, tries to learn who is responsible while a sealed envelope, forged papers and twin sisters complicate the search.
Who is Jimmie Turnbull in The Red Seal?
Jimmie Turnbull is the cashier of the Metropolis Trust Company and a popular figure in Washington society. He enters the McIntyre house disguised as a burglar on a wager, and his death starts the mystery.
What does the letter B mean in The Red Seal?
The letter B appears on a handkerchief, a wax seal, a handbag and a signature, and the dying man's last sound is a stammered B. It points at several people, which is part of the puzzle.
The author
Natalie Sumner Lincoln
1881–1935 · American crime writer
Natalie Sumner Lincoln was an American crime writer who lived in Washington, D.C. She was born there in 1881 and died in 1935. She wrote mystery novels in the early twentieth century. Her books include The Trevor Case, The Thirteenth Letter, and The Red Seal.
More by Natalie Sumner Lincoln
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