John Rhode 
Death Sits on the Board 

Death Sits on the Board, first published in 1937 (and published in the UK as Death on the Board) is part of the series of mysteries featuring private detective Dr. Priestley. Author John Rhode, a pen name of Cecil Street (1884-1964), was a prolific writer of mostly detective novels, publishing more than 140 books between 1924 and 1961. In Death Sits on the Board, the story involves the mysterious deaths of five members of the board of directors for Porslin, Ltd., which deals in "iron-mongery (hardware) of every description." Dr. Priestley is called in to investigate, and after a series of clever deductions and discovering a number of clues, he unearths the secret behind the deaths.