The story in one page
Haverill arrives in rural Pennsylvania to cover George Lennox's medical practice, only to find the locals rattled by unexplained violent deaths. Lennox has cleared out, ostensibly for Europe, leaving behind a baffled household and a suspicious vacuum. Haverill joins forces with a cynical journalist named Herrick and a timid, bespectacled botanist named Crowfoot to investigate a series of clawing attacks that wreck steel bicycle tubing while leaving no footprints. The trail winds through the volatile Menning family, a history of stepbrother rivalry, and a derelict sawmill, where the boundary between rural folklore and the reach of a homicidal maniac dissolves under the sudden, grim precision of a silver bullet.
Who's who
- Haverill
A young physician serving as a summer medical substitute.
- George Lennox
The resident doctor who mysteriously flees his own practice.
- Herrick
A journalist investigating the bizarre deaths in the woods.
- Mr. Crowfoot
A timid botanist with dark glasses hiding a secret identity.
- Aaron Menning
A respected chicken pedlar harboring a violent, hidden mania.
- Jakey Menning
Aaron's stepbrother whose death was initially ruled an accident.
What it's really about
- Hidden Identity
- Characters use disguises and false departures to conduct secret investigations.
- Atavism
- The fear of human regression into animalistic, predatory behavior.
Why it's memorable
- A cyclist discovered in the underbrush with marks no wildcat could have made.
- The reveal that the timid botanist Crowfoot is actually the missing Dr. Lennox.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Lennox reveals he disguised himself as Crowfoot to hunt the homicidal Aaron Menning; after Aaron is shot and drowns in the millpond, the official record lists his death as accidental to protect the survivors.
For your book club
- The effectiveness of the 'disguised investigator' trope in early 20th-century mystery.
- Whether Aaron's behavior was purely psychological or implied a supernatural werewolf transformation.