"The Mantle of Ishmael" (1933) by J. S. Fletcher features impersonation and hidden identities, involving a mysterious, wealthy stranger named James Gilverthwaite. The plot centers on a man hiring a local to keep a dangerous, clandestine appointment on his behalf.
Gilverthwaite takes lodgings with a widow, Mrs. Moneylaws, while researching family graves. When Gilverthwaite falls ill, he hires Hugh Moneylaws to deliver a message in a lonely location, putting Hugh in danger. The novel heavily features impersonation of powerful figures, a family with striking physical resemblances, and ingenious, tightly plotted mystery elements.
|This is a quintessential, well-conceived British mystery solved in an ingenious manner. Back in print for the first time since its initial publication in 1933. A must-read for Fletcher fans!
