Death Holds the Key

A locked room. A family of suspects. A killer in disguise.

When loathed landholder Fred O'Donnell is found dead in a locked room with a bullet in his chest, rookie Detective Hartley must seek help from a mysterious wanderer to solve the case. And it's one where everyone, including his family, has a motive and a secret to keep.


Featuring the mendicant monk from Thorpe's previous novel, Death Leaves the Station, readers will be drawn into the world of small-town Western Australia in the late 1920s, delighting in the characters as they navigate the strained sensibilities and dark secrets of the past.


Full of twists and turns, this seemingly impossible murder mystery is cosy crime writing at its finest. For fans of classic mysteries, small-town settings, and character-driven stories.