Spiderweb

"e;So Jeanne has a lover,"e; she concluded with a touch of amused wonder. "e;But what a lover!"e;Somehow the creature had suggested an undertaker.Alone in Paris after arriving from America, Catherine West finds herself swiftly and dangerously involved in the mysterious case of her cousin, Madame Germaine Bender. Catherine has received a letter from one of Mme Bender's close friends, urging her to come to Paris for reasons unspecified but pressing. When she reaches Mme Bender's house things go from merely intriguing to downright eerie. The servants are off-hand to the point of impertinence, and Mme Bender herself is like a ghost . . .Also in Paris is Geoffrey Macadam, an English lawyer, and Catherine and he join forces, trying to penetrate the mystery of what is happening-and why. Atmosphere, suspense, a touch of horror give this highly coloured novel of strange characters and exciting events a quality that is all Alice Campbell's own.Spiderweb was originally published in 1930. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."e;She could not be unexciting if she tried"e; Times Literary Supplement