Publisher's Synopsis
- Legendary 'Golden Age of Crime' author John Rhode's first-ever crime novel, published for the first time in almost a century. - 'John Rhode well deserves his reputation as a constructor of almost flawless detective story plots' THE DAILY MAIL. - 'John Rhode must hold the record for the invention of ingenious forms of murder' THE SUNDAY TIMES. - 'You can never go far wrong with a Dr Priestley story' NEW YORK TIMES. A murder at the heart of the British Establishment, an enchanting young woman the toast of London society and an antique shop - cocaine linked them all. The illicit use and trafficking of the drug was spreading dangerously. The newspapers attacked the Home Secretary; the Home Secretary attacked Scotland Yard. The arch-criminal responsible was protected by the diabolical ingenuity of his methods of importation and distribution of the illicit drug. He stretched his tentacles beyond London; but left no traces save a number of details which were apparently quite unconnected and quite unimportant. It was the curious episode of the Folangue pottery which gave Frank Clements the first clue to the mystery. ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Rhode was the pseudonym for the author Cecil Street, one of the best-selling and most popular British authors of the Golden Age of Crime. His most famous literary creation was Dr Lancelot Priestley, a forensic detective who featured in seventy-two novels written over forty years, solving many ingenious and misleading murders. Cecil Street was born in 1884 in Gibraltar to a military family. At sixteen he attended the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He served with distinction in the First World War and then in military intelligence before taking up writing full-time. He was a founding member of the Detection Club, the illustrious dining club of detective story writers, and created the famous 'Eric the Skull' used in the rituals of the organisation. He would write over 140 detective novels (writing also as Miles Burton and Cecil Waye) and died in 1964, aged 80. PRAISE FOR JOHN RHODE: 'Standing in the front rank of those who write detective fiction' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT; 'Any murder planned by John Rhode is bound to be ingenious' THE OBSERVER; 'One always embarks on a John Rhode book with a great feeling of security. One knows that there will be a sound plot, a well-knit process of reasoning and a solidly satisfying solution with no loose ends or careless errors of fact' DOROTHY L. SAYERS; 'John Rhode never lets you down. A carefully worked out plot, precise detection, with no logical flaws or jumping to conclusions, and enough of character and atmosphere to carry the thing along' FRANCIS ILES; 'He may well claim the title of Public Brain Tester No. 1' E.R. PUNSHON, THE GUARDIAN
