A chilling day of murder in the midst of post-World War II austerity
Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection Club
In the spring of 1946, the redoubtable Lady Bate arrives at The Downs, built by the eccentric Colonel Anstruther years before. The aftermath of war has forced the colonel’s daughter to take in paying guests, but only Lady Bate knows the secret of Mrs Anstruther’s past life and the mystery behind her hermit-like existence.
When Lady Bate is found dead, a chance remark puts detective Arthur Crook on the right track, which he follows – at risk to his life.
Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection Club
In the spring of 1946, the redoubtable Lady Bate arrives at The Downs, built by the eccentric Colonel Anstruther years before. The aftermath of war has forced the colonel’s daughter to take in paying guests, but only Lady Bate knows the secret of Mrs Anstruther’s past life and the mystery behind her hermit-like existence.
When Lady Bate is found dead, a chance remark puts detective Arthur Crook on the right track, which he follows – at risk to his life.
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Reviews
No author is more skilled at making a good story seem brilliant
If there is one author whose books need to be widely available, it is Gilbert
Anthony Gilbert shared with other successful crime writers a combination of writing talent and clever plotting skills necessary to make it in detective fiction's Golden Age ... Along with Agatha Christie [he] had a talent to deceive
Unquestionably a most intelligent author. Gifts of ingenuity, style and character drawing
