Basil Thomson

This work is a first hand account of two important events which occurred in the Pacific at the turn of the century - the annexation of Niue and the establishment of a protectorate over Tonga by Great Britain.

"Works consulted": p. 317.

Beautiful Margaret Gask, guest at Scudamore Hall, was found shot to death on the driveway of the estate. The mink coat that she should have been wearing, and wasn't, turned out to be the first clue Scotland Yard had to work on, and when it was found that the dead girl had been corresponding with a receiver of stolen goods Inspector Dallas of the Yard went to question the man and found him dead. Each contact of the girl, when traced, drew in shady characters: receivers, jewel thieves, confidence men, and convicted felons on both sides of the Channel. From France, Dallas sent back reports to Chief Constable Richardson, which concerned a murdered French senator, the theft of a famous emerald, a fake Italian prince, and a mysterious priest who sought sanctuary after perpetrating thefts and felonies all over France. The threads of the case seemed to draw together, centering in an abandoned abbey in the South of France, but it ended where it began, in Scudamore Hall, where a priest's robe replaced a mink coat as Exhibit A in evidence. This book was published in England under the title A Murder Arranged

>In the hall he found the body of his maidservant, Helen Dunn, aged about fifty, lying on the floor near the telephone. She had bled profusely from a wound in the head and her body was cold. Richardson's second case begins with a murder and robbery at a quiet house in Laburnum Road, and goes on to include an escaped parrot and a seemingly perfect crime which threatened a scandal to shock all England. Follow with Detective-Sergeant Richardson the fantastic story of an antiquarian's nephew, a pseudo policeman, and a stolen car... search with him for a man wanted for murder... another who fainted at a political meeting... the Treasury note which, because of the name written on it, was a warrant of death. Packed with clues, excitement and humour, this mystery will be certain to thrill and satisfy even the most ardent devotee of detective fiction. >"Sir Basil Thomson's tales are always good reading, and he has the knack of being accurate about Scotland Yard. His book is full of agreeable people, and his case is neatly put together." - Dorothy L. Sayers, Sunday Times >"Few authors can claim such an intimate knowledge of Scotland Yard and criminals as Sir Basil Thomson, one-time Assistant Commissioner at the Yard. He provides subtle intrigue, clever deduction, and bright dialogue, and the whole combines to make easily the best mystery yarn that has come my way in recent weeks. No words are wasted in the fast-moving plot... This book must not be missed." - Referee

This is an Inspector Richardson novel. He is investigating a body found in a barn that papers identify as John Whitaker. He was carrying documents that turn out to be faked. It is up to Inspector Richardson to learn the true identity of the person.