Three Plots for Asey Mayo - Phoebe Atwood Taylor 1942 - W. W. Norton &, New York - First Edition ‘He made rapid plans as he strode forward. After another look about the landing he’d visit Brandt’s studio. Somehow he could get in. Somewhere he should be able to find a clue to the girl’s name and her address...’

A superb copy in the striking dust jacket. Three Mayo Mysteries packed into one volume: the adventures of Taylor’s wonderfully imaginative and down-to-earth detective, Asey Mayo; dedicated protector of Cape Cod, as he catapults through crime scenes in a manner reminiscent of Laurel & Hardy.

Mayo’s personal history is ambiguous, since he seems to have engaged in secret work during World War I but once claimed to have spent the war years peeling potatoes.
  Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1909-76) , the American author of 24 detective novels, also wrote as Alice Tilton, and as Freeman Dana. In The Cape Cod Mystery (1931), Taylor introduced Yankee detective Asey Mayo, the prototype for the shrewd, homespun detective who uses his wits and his knowledge of the locale and inhabitants to solve crimes. Her emphasis is on humour and character rather than plot, and her sense of atmosphere and locale is superb. Taylor’s work has been listed among Haycraft-Queen’s Cornerstone titles.

References: Herbert
The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing 445, Haycraft Murder for Pleasure 211.

Octavo (19.5 x 13.5 cm). pp. 318 [2]. In publisher’s black cloth, spine and boards blocked in yellow with lettering in black relief, additional yellow lettering to spine. Dust jacket price clipped.
  Condition: Fine in very good dust jacket, wear to head and tail of spine, wear to corners.   Ref: 108918   Price: HK$ 1,500