Postscript to Poison

“Do you think it is a secret that you are slowly poisoning Mrs. Lackland?”



When Dr. Tom Faithful receives the third anonymous letter, he knows it is time to call the police. His wealthy patient, Cornelia Lackland, is recovering steadily from a serious illness, diligently cared for by him, her family members and her household staff. But something is amiss in Minsterbridge. Mrs. Lackland rules her house with an iron fist, keeping granddaughters Jenny and Carol as virtual prisoners and bullying her attendant Emily Bullen. Scornful and dismissive of everyone, she is planning to

make one final change to her will. But, before she can meet her solicitor, Cornelia Lackland is dead, the apparent victim of a poisoner. Chief Inspector Dan Pardoe of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate an ever-growing list of suspects.



DOROTHY BOWERS (1902–48) was a champion of “fair play” mysteries, in which all the clues are cunningly displayed within the story. The daughter of a bakery owner, she attended Oxford University, and later became a History teacher, supplementing her income by compiling crossword puzzles. A member of the Detection Club, Bowers wrote five crime thrillers before her early death from tuberculosis: Postscript to Poison (1938), Shadows

Before (1939), A Deed Without a Name (1940), Fear for Miss Betony (1941) and The Bells at Old Bailey (1947).