The Scarab Murder Case

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. In the shadowed halls of an Egyptian museum, wealthy philanthropist Benjamin H. Kyle is found dead beside a rare blue scarab, a clue Philo Vance instantly recognizes as a deliberate deception. The brutal killing, staged with a crushed skull and an eerie air of antiquity, launches a murder investigation steeped in Egyptological obsession, hidden rivalries, and psychological games. When Donald Scarlett, an English Egyptologist, rushes to Vance with the news, the detective responds with cool irony and begins untangling the web around Dr. Bliss's museum and household. As Vance and District Attorney Markham probe the locked-house mystery, they uncover a tense circle of suspects: Bliss, his assistant Salveter, Mrs. Bliss, the Egyptian attendant Hani, and the servants, all of whom knew of Kyle's appointment. Vance's inquiries expose suspicious gaps in the morning's movements, an unlatched front door, and a trail leading to the breakfast-room coffee. His sharp questioning of Hani reveals lies, hidden opium, and a growing sense that the murder is bound to secrets far deeper than the obvious evidence suggests.