The odor of violets
(Book)

Includes discussion guide.

Meet Captain Duncan Maclain. Blinded in the first World War, Maclain made up for his lack of vision by sharpening his other senses and mastering the subtleties often missed by those who see only with their eyes. Aided by his dogs Schnucke and Driest, he made a name for himself as New York City's most sought-after private detective. Now it's 1940, there's a second World War breaking out, and Maclain is pulled into a case unlike any he's investigated before. The murder of an actor in his Greenwich Village apartment would cause a stir no matter the circumstances but, when the actor happens to possess secret government plans, and when those plans go missing along with the young woman with whom he was last seen, it's sensational enough to interest not only the local police, but the American government as well. Maclain suspects a German spy plot at work and, in a world where treasonous men and patriots are indistinguishable to the naked eye, it will take his special skills to sniff out the solution.