Death and Chicanery

Here, in one volume, are four enthralling stories from the pen of one of the greatest crime-and-detection writers of our time. "Deed of Mercy" tells of a foreign scientist accused of molesting a young student-actress, and the part played by his actress wife in revealing the truth. "Breakfast for the King" has an Oriental setting, in which the life of a young man is at stake for a theft he did not commit. "Moon Flame" is the story of a newspaper man and his involvement with a vindictive actress who plans to revenge herself on her ex-husband. "The Ticker Tape" - almost Grand Guignol in its terrible implications and the vividness of its detail - is an account of the mental conflict of a husband and wife over the murder of a boy, leading to gruesome consequences. Philip MacDonald's mastery of the art of taut and gripping writing has, perhaps, never been better exemplified than in this new collection of stories.