Appears to be a book in a series featuring Miss Rachel, a 70 year old detective. She has a cat named Samantha who tags along and follows here about. In this book, murder and a series of cruel pranks, intrigues Miss Rachel and she agrees to help a young lady find help from the grips of a sinister household. Other books in this series are: Cat's Claw Catspaw for Murder The Alarm of the Black Cat The Ticking Heart Death Cuts a Silhouette The Cat Saw Murder The writing has characters that imitate film characters of the time.