The Curse of the Black Hawthorn vase had resided in the house of the Gaunts as long as they had. Ever since the days of the opium-delivering clipper ships the house had been cursed, with the head of the household of every generation dying a horrible, unexplained death. So when a bevy of family members and spouses congregate on the estate and the matriarch dies one night, the eldest son the next, there's nothing for Inspector Potter to do but confine everyone to the house until he solves the case. That's when the trouble starts. This is a classic 1934 'impossible mystery' from a forgotten author, deserving of being read and remembered, even if only by a few.
Used availability for John Stephen Strange's The Chinese Jar Mystery