Puzzle in Purple — Betsy Allen

When Connie Blair goes to art school she enters an exciting new world in which glamour and mystery mingle. Connie expects to meet unusual and colorful personalities, and she is not disappointed. But she hasn't bargained for a skeleton named Adam who turns up in a purple cloak at the midwinter fancy dress ball and leaves his signature scrawled across the ceiling!

From that moment on, tension mounts in the stately old Philadelphia mansion that houses the art school. Who is back of the debacle of the masked ball? Eric Payson, the shy, sensitive young painter whose mural was the only one not defaced? Roby Woodward, irresistible young dilettante who despises Eric for his ability? Fritz Bachman, sharp faced and sardonic, and determined to win the Fairchild Prize by fair means or foul? Sensing the impending catastrophe that later dwarfs the episode of the ball, Connie tries feverishly to fit into place the scattered pieces of the puzzle. How she accomplishes this, and what she sees when the picture finally becomes clear is told in a thrilling mystery story set against the fascinating background of art school.