The Indigo Necklace

Also published as “The Indigo Necklace Murders”

“Appealing background, pleasingly described; some family skeletons; bitter-sweet romance, and customarily deft Abbott sleuthing.”—The Saturday Review

Lieutenant Pat Abbott and his lovable but slightly rattle-brained wife, Jean, have become about the most popular couple in murder fiction today. In The Indigo Necklace, Frances Crane takes them to New Orleans, where a huge wartime population has overflowed into the famous French quarter, steeped in tradition and old-world ceremony. When murder is done amidst these incongruous elements, it takes ingenious sleuthing indeed to unravel the crime!
Pat Abbott and his Jean are paying guests of a proud old Creole family, luxuriating in the charm of their surroundings, when Jean discovers a body at her very doorstep. Before the Lieutenant unmasks the murderer, the Abbotts meet a fascinating array of aristocrats and scoundrels, including a police chief, drawn from life, who will become a permanent member of the Abbott troupe—if Mrs. Crane's publishers and audience have anything to say.

Included floor plans have been redrawn for improved legibility.

“The plot of The Indigo Necklace is good, and the writing is considerably above the average.”—The Montreal Gazette

“One of the year’s best.”—The Boston Globe