Figure Away, first published in 1937, is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Phoebe Atwood Taylor was an American mystery author.Phoebe Atwood Taylor wrote mystery novels under her own name, and as Freeman Dana and Alice Tilton. Her first novel, The Cape Cod Mystery, introduced the "Codfish Sherlock", Asey Mayo, who became a series character appearing in 24 novels...

 which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock". This novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit.

Plot summary

Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

's resident detective Asey Mayo is asked to take a hand with respect to some mysterious disturbances that threaten the success of Billingsgate's "Old Home Week

Old Home Week

Old Home Week is a practice that originated in the New England region of the United States similar to a holiday or festival. In its beginning in the 19th-20th century it involved a municipal effort to invite former residents of a village, town, or city - usually individuals who grew up in the...

", a local festival mounted to stave off the small town's bankruptcy. The week of homespun celebrations is soon marred by the murder of an antiques dealer and there is no shortage of suspects, both local and "come-from-awayers"; someone has been sabotaging the festival and occasionally taking the place of one of the mannequins on the lawn of the murdered antiques dealer. Asey Mayo finally tracks down the identity of the murderer and learns who's been moving the "figure away".