William Magnay

The Hunt Ball Mystery William Magnay

The Hunt Ball Mystery is a true locked room mystery. Sir William Magnay, 2nd Baronet (1855 - 1917) was an English baronet and novelist, publishing 25 novels before his death. His works include: The Red Chancellor (1901), Count Zarka (1903), Fauconberg (1905), The Mystery of the Unicorn (1907), The Powers of Mischief (1909), The Fruit of Indiscretion: A Society Mystery (1913) and The Hunt Ball Mystery (1918). Hugh Gifford discovers he is without evening clothes due to a mistake made by the guard unloading luggage. Gifford and his friend Harry Kelson are going to a Hunt Ball to be held that evening at Wynford Place. Hugh and his friend share a ride to a local hotel to wait for the time to go to the ball. When Henshaw is discovered missing he is found in a locked room with the key on the inside and an 80 feet drop from its window. The general consensus is Henshaw committed suicide, but Gervase Henshaw, the dead man's brother, disagrees, and so does the doctor who gives evidence at the inquest.