The Scarlet Letters (#23)

Broadway producer Martha Lawrence has a problem. Her once loving husband, Dirk, has become violent and controlling, and she doesn’t know why. When she reaches out to their friend, mystery-solver Ellery Queen for help, Dirk interrupts their meeting in a drunken rage. He is convinced that the two are having an affair.

Martha needs Ellery’s help to convince Dirk that she’s never cheated and never will. But from the clues he uncovers, it looks as if Martha might be two-timing after all. If Dirk is a cuckold, is his anger justifiable? And who is responsible if it results in murder?

Ellery must figure out who is responsible for crippling a marriage before someone gets killed in the name of love.