The Scarlet Circle

On vacation with his daughter on the New England coast, Dr. Hugh Westlake is enjoying the sun, the sea, and the fishing. It being September, the inn where they're staying is almost empty, except for a few other guests. But the peace is shattered when a woman's body is found strangled on the beach, with a red circle drawn around a mole on her face.

The morbid scene becomes more so when she's identified as the governess of a family staying at the inn. Hugh gets drafted by local law enforcement to help with the investigation. He uncovers dysfunctional parents, a creepy mortician, a handsome lifeguard, and a woman painter--all with secrets to hide. Not to mention local legends. When another woman is murdered, with another mole circled, Hugh realizes there's a madman on the loose. And he must tie up the loose ends of crimes past and present to net a most diabolical killer.

Author: Jonathan Stagge
Publisher: American Mystery Classics
Published: 09/02/2025
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 7.95h x 5.20w x 0.94d
ISBN13: 9781613167137
ISBN10: 161316713X
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Mystery & Detective | General

About the Author
Jonathan Stagge was one of the pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler (1912-1987), Richard Wilson Webb (1901-1966), Martha Mott Kelley (1906-2005), and Mary Louise White Aswell (1902-1984) wrote detective fiction. Most of the stories were written together by Webb and Wheeler, or by Wheeler alone. Their best-known creation is amateur sleuth Peter Duluth. In 1963, the story collection The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.

Otto Penzler, the creator of American Mystery Classics, is also the founder of The Mysterious Press (1975); MysteriousPress.com (2011), an electronic-book publishing company; and New York City's Mysterious Bookshop (1979). He has won a Raven, the Ellery Queen Award, two Edgars (for the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, 1977, and The Lineup, 2010), and lifetime achievement awards from NoirCon and The Strand Magazine. He has edited more than 70 anthologies and written extensively about mystery fiction.