A man is found dead in the study of his New York City house and Detective Gryce is called upon to deduce the how and why of his murder - if it is indeed a murder. With the assistance of Miss Amelia Butterworth, Gryce must investigate the meaning of the meager clues, including the cries of a talking bird, in order to uncover what happened to the victim. Solving this crime will involve several generations of two families.
Anna Katharine Green (November 11, 1846 – April 11, 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Green has been called "the mother of the detective novel".