Joyce Carol Oates 
Mysteries of Winterthurn 

In Mysteries of Winterthurn, the brilliant young detective-hero Xavier Kilgarvan is confronted with three baffling cases"The Virgin in the Rose-Bower, " "The Devil’s Half-Acre, " and "The Blood-Stained Gown"that tax his genius for detection to the utmost, just as his forbidden passion for his cousin Perdita becomes an obsession that shapes his life.