The leading lady

In Short

This mystery is a classic "closed-circle" thriller set in a remote house on a Maine island. When Sybil Saunders, an actress embroiled in a high-profile murder trial, attempts to hide from the press, she finds herself trapped with a small group of acquaintances. When a member of the company is murdered, the island becomes a pressure cooker of suspicion and shifting motives. It remains a compelling read for its atmospheric setting, its sharp, psychological exploration of toxic obsession, and its clever subversion of traditional detective tropes.

The Story

Sybil Saunders is a woman under siege. Her fiancé, the actor James Dallas, has vanished after killing a wealthy man named Homer Parkinson in a fit of rage, and the resulting media storm has left Sybil a pariah. Seeking a quiet place to recuperate, she joins a theatrical company on Gull Island, a rugged, isolated outpost owned by a man named Driscoll. The island is accessible only by boat or a causeway that vanishes at high tide, ensuring total isolation from the mainland police.

Within the house, tensions are already high. Joe Tracy, a young, abrasive, and duplicitous man, is obsessed with the ten-thousand-dollar reward offered by the Parkinson family for information on the missing Dallas. Joe is not only a member of the company but a secret informant for the authorities. He harbors a deep, venomous grudge against Sybil, whom he suspects of knowing Dallas’s location. His sister, Anne, attempts to mitigate his volatile moods, but Joe’s behavior becomes increasingly unhinged as he stalks the halls, looking for a way to secure the reward.

The atmosphere breaks when a shot rings out near "The Point," a sheer cliff overlooking the turbulent channel. Sybil is found dead, seemingly murdered. The company is thrown into a state of terror. When authorities arrive, they are convinced that the killer is one of the island's occupants. Suspicion initially falls on the volatile Aleck Stokes, who has been harboring a dark, obsessive passion for Sybil, but the investigation grows more complex when the body of the murder victim is discovered not to be Sybil at all, but Joe Tracy.

The resolution reveals a bizarre and desperate scheme. Joe had overheard a secret meeting between Sybil and Stokes and, hoping to trap them, donned a costume—Sybil’s own stage attire—to impersonate her. He intended to eavesdrop on their plans in the darkness of a summer-house, believing he could secure evidence of a crime that would earn him the reward money. Instead, Joe met his death in a case of mistaken identity. Sybil, having survived the night, eventually escapes the island, leaving behind the wreckage of a tragedy fueled by greed and unrequited obsession. Years later, she is seen living a quiet, peaceful life on a distant tropical island, finally free of the shadows that once threatened to consume her.

How It Unfolds

The arrival at the island Sybil arrives on Gull Island seeking solitude, unaware that the island’s geography—the shifting, treacherous tides—will soon turn her refuge into a prison. The members of the theatrical company gather in a house described as an idealized hunting lodge, where the tension between them is thick from the start.

The creeping suspicion Joe Tracy begins acting with strange, pouncing eagerness, his eyes revealing a "malign quality" that alarms his sister. As the company prepares for a performance of Twelfth Night, the hunt for the missing James Dallas hangs over every conversation, creating a climate of mutual distrust.

The night of the murder A shot echoes from the cliffs, and the group discovers that someone has been shot at the water’s edge. The initial assumption that Sybil is the victim sends the company into a state of frantic, terrified confusion.

The arrival of the authorities Detectives Rawson and Williams arrive to conduct a cold, systematic interrogation of the group. They are skeptical of the company's story, noting the oddities of the crime scene and the suspicious disappearance of Joe Tracy.

The final revelation A series of clues, including the discovery of Joe’s hidden belongings on the mainland, forces the truth to the surface. The death of the actor Aleck Stokes, who confesses his role in the chaos before dying, finally clarifies the motive behind the fatal error.

The People

Sybil Saunders is the "leading lady" whose grace and beauty mask a deep, protective armor. She wants only to be left alone, but her past as the fiancée of a fugitive makes her a target for the rapacious. By the end, she moves from a hunted woman to one who finds a genuine, quiet peace.

Joe Tracy is the story’s antagonist, a young man with "brilliant and hard" eyes and a soul marked by "baser worldly knowledge." He is driven by greed and a desire for power, and his attempts to manipulate the investigation into the Dallas-Parkinson case ultimately lead to his own undoing.

Anne Tracy, Joe’s sister, is his antithesis—gentle, observant, and deeply loyal. She struggles to reconcile her love for her brother with the terrifying, "sinister" stranger he reveals himself to be. Her growth is marked by the shedding of her passive role as she confronts the reality of his nature.

Aleck Stokes is a man defined by a "torment of his soul." His unrequited, obsessive love for Sybil serves as the catalyst for the island's drama. He is a tragic figure, consumed by a passion that strips him of his reason and leaves him broken by the time he finally speaks his truth.

In Its Own Voice

"To be pointed out as Sybil Saunders, the actress, was a very different thing from being pointed out as Sybil Saunders, the fiancée of James Dallas of the Dallas-Parkinson case."

(The narrator describes the weight of public scrutiny that follows Sybil to the island.)

"He was like Anne, the same delicate features, the same long eyebrows and the same trick of raising them till they curved high on his forehead."

(The text introduces Joe Tracy, highlighting the physical resemblance between the siblings that makes his inner malice more jarring.)

"They were like two ghosts come together in some debatable land beyond earth’s confines--too astonished at their encounter to find speech."

(Sybil and Anne reunite after the chaos, marking the moment the truth of the night begins to emerge.)

What It's Really About

At its core, the book examines the corrosive effect of public notoriety and the way obsession can strip away a person’s humanity. Sybil’s struggle is not just against the law, but against a society that insists on defining her by her associations. The island serves as a laboratory for these themes, showing how forced proximity and high-stakes secrets can turn a group of friends into a collection of suspicious actors. The plot argues that when individuals are driven by hidden agendas—whether for money or for a toxic, all-consuming passion—the truth becomes an elusive, shifting target, often only revealed through the accidental, clumsy errors of the guilty rather than the genius of the investigators.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the slow-burn, atmospheric tension of classic mystery fiction will find much to admire here. The setting of the remote Maine island is painted with a vivid, moody intensity that makes the house feel like a character in its own right. The prose is elegant and precise, capturing the theatrical nature of the characters while maintaining a sharp focus on their inner psychological turbulence.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the pacing of the early twentieth century. The book spends a significant amount of time on character dynamics and the specific social codes of the theater world, which may feel dense to those accustomed to modern, fast-paced thrillers. Additionally, the dialogue occasionally employs the period's unique slang and stiff, formal structures, which can be a bit jarring at first. Yet, these elements contribute to the book's distinct "old-world" charm. What sticks with the reader is not just the "neat trick" of the murder mystery, but the portrait of Sybil—a woman who, after surviving a nightmare of external judgment and internal tragedy, manages to find a quiet, tranquil end. It is a rewarding look at the cost of fame and the quiet strength required to leave the past behind.