Once again, the Littles let themselves down by ruining a great story with an unnecessary train-wreck of a ‘romance’.

Diana Prescott is a strong-willed free spirit—sort of. She defied her pea-cannery owner, millionaire father and ran off to follow her dream of stardom on the Broadway stage. She now lives in a respectable boardinghouse while pursuing her studies in drama school. The boardinghouse is operated by Mrs. Lulu Markham and her aspiring-actress daughter Barbara, who rehearses with Diana in the drawing room whenever it is free.

The other inhabitants of the boardinghouse are a motley crew: schoolteachers Mary and Grace, thirty-something spinsters who still have high hopes; Camille, a washed up former actress with a slight drinking problem; Neville Ward, a milquetoast bank employee; Imogene and Opal, a couple of elderly sisters who have an insatiable appetite for library books; Barbara’s uncle, Alvin, a man of few words and even fewer interests; Dennis Livingstone, the handsome newcomer who has apparently been sent to lure Diana back home to her father; Kate, the irritable cook; Evie, the insolent maid; Miss Giddens, a dotty old lady who is no longer playing with a full deck; and Diana’s father, Quincy Prescott, a bombastic industrialist and bridge enthusiast who just wishes his pea-heiress daughter would take up sewing and stay home.

Life in the boardinghouse is running smoothly when some of its most innocuous residents suddenly begin disappearing…along with the draperies. When their dead bodies (& the curtains) start turning up under odd circumstances throughout the house, it becomes clear that a brutal killer is on the loose, but who could possibly want to kill such a harmless bunch of old pensioners, and why?

Diana and Barbara scour the house in search of clues and find way more than they can possibly handle. It is definitely an inscrutable puzzle. What could a burned topaz brooch, a missing library book, a bunch of old photos, a copy of Elsie Dinsmore, a battered hat, and experiments with garden peas possibly have to do with triple murder? When Diana finally succeeds in putting the pieces together and realizes the dismal truth, she finds herself fending off a deadly assault from the ruthless killer. Will help arrive in time, or will Diana become innocent murder victim #4?

With The Black Shrouds, the Littles are successful in creating a mystery chockfull of wacky characters and a plot that is clever and comes together nicely in the end. Unfortunately, it suffers from the same failing common to all of the Little mysteries I have read so far—a thoroughly tepid and unconvincing romance between our supposedly free-spirited heroine and some dumb cluck who is more dud than dreamboat.

Diana knows her own mind and is determined to fulfill her ambition of having a career on the stage. Dennis Livingstone appears on the scene, taunts her, pushes her around, and paws all over her every chance he gets; and, except within the context of getting her father’s goat, Diana has no more enthusiasm for him than she does for old Uncle Alvin. Yet, at the end of the story, Diana is meekly bundled off back home to her father with an engagement to that pompous buffoon Dennis looming over her head. It’s pointless and utterly infuriating.

This is one of my favorite Little mystery plots, but it is largely spoiled by an insufferable character who could just as easily been left out of the book entirely. ( )

Not the best of the Little's books but still a good light-hearted read. ( )