Skip to Main Content

The Severed Key

LIST PRICE $3.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Digital products purchased on SimonandSchuster.com must be read on the Simon & Schuster Books app. Learn more.

Free shipping when you spend $40. Terms apply.

Buy from Other Retailers

About The Book

Was the crash deliberately contrived, a diabolical piece of sabotage, or was it cruelly fortuitous? Simon Drake—Miss Nielsen’s very personable and popular lawyer-detective—happens to be at the airport at the time of the crash, and notices that some surprising people have been awaiting the ill-fated plane: among them, a gangster boss and a millionaire playboy. He hastens to take his boat out into the bay, to help search for possible survivors, but all he manages to pick up is one piece of hand luggage—a cosmetics case which is identified as belonging to Sigrid Thorsen, a young starlet who was joining her fiancé at Los Angeles. And the severed key concealed in the case is the first of many clues in the extremely dangerous and complex adventure which invades Drake’s life.

The mystery develops in many directions, and Drake finds himself and his friens more and more involved. In the background there is the hovering, enigmatic presence of the gangster boss. And from time to time a trio of utterly amoral hippies erupt into the narrative.

As we approach the very tense climax, the plot grows darker and more deadly: Miss Nielsen has many surprises in reserve.

About The Author

Helen Nielsen (1918–2002) was the author of numerous mystery novels and television scripts. Some of her scripts were for shows such as Perry Mason and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Some of her titles include Woman on the Roof, The Crime Is Murder, and Stranger in the Dark.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Prologue Books (March 15, 2012)
  • Length: 100 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781440541322

Browse Related Books

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Helen Nielsen

More books in this series: Prologue Books