The Iron Clew is a novel that was published in 1947 by Phoebe Atwood Taylor writing as Alice Tilton.

Leonidas Witherall, "the man who looks like Shakespeare", is writing the latest adventure of Lieutenant Hazeltine when his housekeeper Mrs. Mullet interrupts to offer her "candied opinion".

Assisted by plucky housewife Liz Copley and gang of other assistants, Witherall races around the town of Dalton and tracks down a missing dinosaur footprint, a copy of Tamerlane, the bank documents and the murderer.

A murder occurs under embarrassing circumstances, and Leonidas forms a motley crew of assistants together in order to track down clues, chase around the town, and solve the mystery.

Some supporting characters continue between novels; there is always a beautiful girl, a handsome former student, and an intrepid housewife.