The story in one page
Sidney Bolton is found strangled inside a nailed-down packing case at a riverside hotel. Suspicion circulates around an emerald-filled mummy he was rumored to possess. As an artist named Archie Hope and a scholarly Professor Braddock hunt for the relic, they must navigate a web of false accusations, amateur sleuthing, and missing manuscripts. The artifact, claimed by a Peruvian descendant of the Inca, becomes the focal point for a series of murders. Eventually, the characters clear their names, the emeralds are accounted for, and the mummy is returned to its ancient resting place in the Andes.
Who's who
- Archie Hope
A struggling artist who investigates the murder to clear his reputation.
- Professor Braddock
A scientist driven by an obsession for the mummy and its riches.
- Lucy
The artist's fiancee who navigates family tension and inheritance drama.
- Sir Frank Random
A baronet and soldier whose proximity to the murder invites suspicion.
- Don Pedro
The claimant to the mummy who asserts his royal Inca lineage.
What it's really about
- Inheritance
- Money and legacies complicate every romantic and legal entanglement.
- The Cost of Greed
- The hunt for Andean emeralds consistently leads to violent ends.
Why it's memorable
- A scientist lunging across a garden to hug a giant green mummy case.
- A corpse discovered nailed inside a shipping crate at a seaside hotel.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
The green mummy is returned to a tomb in the Andes. The surviving couples settle into quiet lives, relieved to be free of the artifact's fatal reputation.
For your book club
- The narrative prioritizes eccentric character reactions over procedural forensic accuracy.
- The mummy functions less as a supernatural threat and more as a portable bank vault.