Ednah Aiken. Love and I (1928) 353 pp.
Marcia Robbins receives a message that her husband Howard is setting up an apartment in San Francisco. His business frequently keeps him overnight in the city, away from their Woodside home. When Warren Gaunt, a “bachelor lawyer” who represents the family, learns that Marcia has gone to surprise her husband at the new apartment, he knows immediately what Marcia does not—the apartment is not for her; it is a love-nest for Robbins (the “love-pirate”) and his latest mistress. Shortly after she enters the apartment, shots are fired. When Gaunt reaches the bedroom he finds Robbins dead, a girl on the bed, Marcia in shock, and an automatic on the floor. Not knowing who pulled the trigger, but seeking to protect Marcia at all costs, Gaunt quickly positions the gun to suggest suicide and convinces the women to concoct a story that the girl is the new governess. After installing everyone—the girl included—back at the Woodside home, Gaunt launches an investigation into the girl’s background that takes him to San Diego, Pasadena, and Santa Barbara, and uncovers some unsavory family secrets along the way.
Baird & Greenwood 35; Hubin