Neal Smith

A Question of Tenancy Neal Smith

"A Question of Tenancy" is a sly non-murder mystery involving salacious artwork, a nebulous drug ring, an outrageous hunch, and the quirky riddles of old houses. It opens with a late-night phone call from college professor Seth Kaufman to the Gregorys, architect Eric and pediatrician Rita, Seth's nearest neighbors in an uneasily gentrifying agricultural area outside of Washington, DC. Seth and his socialite wife Lacy are rushing to a stricken relative's Seattle bedside, and Seth asks Eric to ferry a rare book promised to a colleague from the Kaufmans' renovated country manor into the District. Eric agrees, but while retrieving the book, he shamelessly prowls the vacant Kaufman home and stumbles upon a lurid secret. Soon, Eric and an aspiring journalist are racing to resolve an ominous puzzle.