John Dickson Carr 
Hag’s Nook [EPUB ebook] 

‘The Starberths die of broken necks’ goes the legend in the village of Chatterham . . . The Starberth family governed the now-abandoned Chatterham prison for many years, and each male heir must spend the night of his twenty-fifth birthday there, alone, overlooking the hanging site of Hag’s Nook. Meanwhile, after a chance encounter on a railway platform, Dorothy Starberth and young American graduate Tad Rampole fall in love. Rampole is here in rural Lincolnshire to see Gideon Fell. The following day, Dorothy’s brother is found dead of a broken neck, just as his father and grandfather before him. Ingeniously plotted and packed with atmosphere, Hag’s Nook will not disappoint mystery lovers.