The Blue Book Magazine, May 1924

The Gallowstree Mystery

J. S. Fletcher's mystery novel begins in a coastal village where convalescent Ben Heckitt, eighteen and recovering from illness, remains at his family's ancient home while his fastidious older sister Keziah departs to attend a friend's emergency. Ben must guard the house and the family silver—Queen Anne pieces locked in an iron-cornered box beneath Keziah's bed—during his first night alone.

The narrative establishes the setting: isolated Heckitt House overlooks a dramatic seacoast featuring Gallowstree Point, a historical execution site with a gibbet, and an abandoned tide-mill. Across the semicircular creek sits the mysterious Middlebourne Grange, a moated estate belonging to the reclusive Miss Ellingham and her nephew Bryce. Ben, infatuated with seventeen-year-old Pepita Marigold (daughter of retired Captain Marigold), is jealous of Bryce's attentions to her. Pepita visits, warning Ben about ghosts and suggesting he visit the Point. After she departs, Ben contemplates the isolated house as evening falls, suggesting supernatural elements will emerge.