''Death Lights a Candle'' is a 1932 Golden Age classic whodunit marking the second book in the highly popular Asey Mayo Cape Cod Mystery series. The story takes place in a Wellfleet mansion on Cape Cod during a fierce March blizzard. A house party of guests and servants is completely snowed in and cut off from civilization. The host, Bert Stires, arrives 24 hours overdue from Boston, wet and freezing, only to be found dead in his locked bedroom the following morning. The local doctor rules the cause of death as arsenic poisoning. The investigation becomes incredibly complicated when it is discovered that almost every single guest has arsenic among their personal belongings. Because Asey Mayo has just been elected as the local sheriff, he uses his official badge and homespun wit to figure out the unique murder method: did someone soak the candle wicks in poison?
