In the Onyx Lobby

At the Campanile apartment house in New York, Letitia Prall and Mrs Everett have kept a feud alive for twenty years. Their shared address brings old resentments into daily contact, while Letitia's nephew Richard Bates wants money for his aviation inventions. Sir Herbert Binney has a different plan for the young man: a place in the American branch of his bun business. Family affection, inheritance and commercial ambition give Carolyn Wells's detective novel a crowded opening situation.

The investigation into Sir Herbert's death turns attention toward a paper-knife from Letitia's library and the people who work in the building. Detectives Gibbs and Corson question night porter Bob Moore, whose observations of two chambermaids mix possible clues with personal judgments. For readers who enjoy weighing testimony, the appeal lies in that uncertain boundary between evidence and suspicion, set against the habits and rivalries of apartment life.