Two Flights Up is a story of how class distinctions and pretensions shape life in a medium-sized American town. The plot involves crime and investigation, but it is not exactly a mystery novel in the usual sense of the term. After her husband went to prison ten years ago for stealing bonds from a bank, a woman has been trying to maintain her image of the family prestige for herself, her sister, and her daughter, with very little money. As the story opens they take in a lodger, who becomes entangled in their lives on multiple levels, and the bond thief is about to be released from prison on medical grounds. Many complications and consequences ensue from these two changes to the otherwise stagnant life in the old house at 91 Kelsey Street. - Summary by Zach Hoyt
