The Affair at Flower Acres

‘The Affair at Flower Acres’ is the seventh in the Pennington Wise series of mystery novels from prolific author Carolyn Wells. Douglas Raynor is the owner of the beautiful estate of Flower Acres, where he lives with his wife Nancy, sister Mattie and brother-in-law. Eyebrows are raised when Douglas invites his wife’s former lover Malcolm Finley to visit, and when Douglas is shot dead soon after, the local police are left baffled. Pennington Wise is called in to help solve the mysterious crime.

Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) was a prolific American novelist and poet, best known for her children’s literature, mystery novels and humorous verse. Born in New Jersey, following school Wells worked as a librarian where she developed her love of reading, and her first book ‘At the Sign of the Sphinx’ was published in 1896. From 1900 Wells dedicated herself to her literary career, writing over 170 novels in total across a range of genres. Some of her most loved works include the ‘Patty Fairfield’ and ‘Marjorie Maynard’ series for girls, as well as the ‘Fleming Stone’ mystery series for adults. Wells is also well-known for her humorous nonsense verse, and was a frequent contributor of verse to magazines. She published an autobiography ‘The Rest of my Life’ in 1937. Wells died in New York City in 1942.