The Tinkling Symbol, first published in 1935,[1] is a detective story by Phoebe Atwood Taylor which features her series detective Asey Mayo, the "Codfish Sherlock".

Kay Truman was the found at the foot of the cliff a month prior.

Her father, Dave, had already been depressed because his business had failed and his wife had left him.

But when it is learned that Dave had in fact been stabbed in the back, Asey Mayo is called to investigate, soon becoming a target for a determined shooter.

Meanwhile, he sorts out some local Cape Cod entanglements and learns the meaning of a dying clue left by Dave Truman— "ink"—and what the tinkling bell around the neck of Sully the cat has to do with anything.