The rich Greek-American department store tycoon built a replica of a Minoan palace on an island off the coast of California. He was its absolute ruler—until someone stole his most priceless possession, a statue of the snake goddess.

To get it back, he enlists the help of Roman history scholar and sometimes amateur detective, Theocritus Lucius Westborough, who is shocked to discover that the island is almost completely cut off from the rest of the world. Family, servants and guests are under the almost total control of this modern-day king—the self-proclaimed Minos. But when theft turns into murder, the police are baffled and ask Prof. Westborough to bring his unique talents to bear in catching a murderer whose intelligence is exceeded only by his callous disregard for human life.

The killer is obviously on the island. Suspects abound, including the Minos’ second wife, a youthful-looking woman in her forties who, for some reason, he loathes;  her son, a frail young man who has only two interests in life: studying early native American sites on the island and his beautiful and strong-willed stepsister; a rival businessman and his shallow, if athletic son; an impoverished artist hired to recreate Minoan frescoes on the walls of the palace; and a Minoan scholar who trades literary quotations with Westborough at every turn.

First published in 1939,  Murder Gone Minoan presents fascinating look at Minoan customs and art, as well as a glimpse at the life of early channel Indians, in an entertaining, if  decidedly old-fashioned,  detective puzzle. The author’s previous Rue Morgue Press book, The Man from Tibet, was named by Jon L. Breen in The History of Mystery, edited by Max Allan Collins, as one of the 25 best amateur detective novels of all time.

Reviews

“Devotees of Ellery Queen and John Dickson Carr will embrace this reprint of a Theocritus Westborough Golden Age classic, Murder Goes Minoan, by Clyde B. Clason. Set on a private island designed to mimic a Minoan palace, this excellent fair-play whodunit nicely interweaves subtle clues, an engaging amateur sleuth and fascinating archeological and historical details.”
—Publishers Weekly

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