The trouble at Pinelands: A detective story: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The trouble at Pinelands: A detective story: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The trouble at Pinelands: A detective story is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Poate, Ernest M. (1884–1935).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
The Trouble at Pinelands by Ernest M. Poate is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. Set in a small North Carolina town, it follows elderly bachelor George Uhlman as he keeps watch over Dorothy McGregor, her exacting invalid aunt Mary, and their sleepy nurse in a gloomy, possibly haunted house. Rumors of a mischievous “poltergeist,” simmering feuds, and town rivalries quickly give way to a sudden death that throws suspicion on Dorothy’s fiancé, young Dr. Lewis Parker. The mystery promises a blend of ghostly mischief, family tensions, and a hard-nosed investigation. The opening of the novel finds George sleepless in Fort House, unnerved by eerie clanks, crashes, and a terrible scream that Dorothy and Aunt Mary attribute to a “poltergeist” that breaks dishes and steals food. By morning, Aunt Mary—who prides herself on saintly patience—rails at the piercing bobwhite calls; Lewis vows to shoot the quail, even as a flippant telegram from his best man arrives. After Aunt Mary suffers a dramatic “spell,” Lewis summons the senior physician, Dr. Gaskell, who brusquely calls it hysteria, sparking a bitter quarrel. Meanwhile, Lewis also learns Gaskell has taken one of his cases, and a hulking mountaineer, Lafe Rutledge, publicly threatens Gaskell before sunrise; the family’s nurse, Miss Christie, panics at Rutledge’s name and refuses to explain. That night the shotgun is set by the door for Lewis’s dawn errand. At daybreak a single blast rings out: Gaskell lies dead in the scrub oaks, and the constable arrests Lewis as a hostile crowd gathers. Sheriff Redden arrives, scatters the would-be mob, and begins the investigation into whether a tragic accident or something darker has occurred.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The trouble at Pinelands: A detective story
- Author credits: Poate, Ernest M. (1884–1935)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Detective and mystery stories
- Distilling, Illicit -- Fiction
- Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction
- North Carolina -- Fiction
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Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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