In the packed queue for a popular West End Theatre in 1920s London, the crowd surges forward as the doors open at last... But as they do so, one of their number falls to the ground - a man, stabbed in the back with a stiletto while people jostled for position in the throng. There is nothing in the man's clothes or wallet to identify him, and nothing in his pockets but a revolver... Who is he and who killed him before melting away unseen into the night? Inspector Alan Grant investigates, and soon is engaged in a breathless manhunt that will lead him from London all the way to the Scottish highlands and back, before the mystery is finally resolved in a way that not even he can anticipate.
Inspector Alan Grant Series
Follow Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard as he delves into intricate cases within the heart of London. Each installment presents new mysteries that test his sharp intellect and unwavering determination. This series is a perfect choice for fans of classic detective fiction, emphasizing logical deduction and suspenseful resolutions. Immerse yourself in a world of intrigue and crime where the truth awaits discovery.
Recommended Reading Order
Beneath the sea cliffs of the south coast, suicides are a sad but common fact. Inspector Grant has to take a more professional attitude: death by suicide, however common, has to have a motive - just like murder...
Robert Blair was about to knock off from a slow day at his law firm when the phone rang. It was Marion Sharpe on the line, a local woman of quiet disposition who lived with her mother at their decrepit country house, The Franchise. It appeared that she was in some serious trouble: Miss Sharpe and her mother were accused of brutally kidnapping a demure young woman named Betty Kane. Miss Kane's claims seemed highly unlikely, even to Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, until she described her prison -- the attic room with its cracked window, the kitchen, and the old trunks -- which sounded remarkably like The Franchise. Yet Marion Sharpe claimed the Kane girl had never been there, let alone been held captive for an entire month! Not believing Betty Kane's story, Solicitor Blair takes up the case and, in a dazzling feat of amateur detective work, solves the unbelievable mystery that stumped even Inspector Grant.
It was rumoured that Hollywood stars would go to any lengths for the privilege of being photographed by the good-looking, brilliantly talented and ultra-fashionable portrait photographer Leslie Searle. But what was such a gifted creature doing in such an English village backwater as Salcott St Mary? And why -- and how -- did he disappear? If a crime had been committed, was it murder…fraud…or simply some macabre practical joke?
The Daughter of Time
- 208 pages
- 8 hours of reading
A hospitalized English policeman reconstructs historical evidence concerning Richard III's role in the murder of Edward IV's two sons.
The Singing Sands
- 187 pages
- 7 hours of reading
On sick leave from Scotland Yard, Inspector Alan Grant is planning a quiet holiday with an old school chum to recover from overwork and mental fatigue. Traveling on the night train to Scotland, however, Grant stumbles upon a dead man and a cryptic poem about 'the stones that walk' and 'the singing sand, ' which send him off on a fascinating search into the verse's meaning and the identity of the deceased. Grant needs just this sort of casual inquiry to quiet his jangling nerves, despite his doctor's orders. But what begins as a leisurely pastime eventually turns into a full-blown investigation that leads Grant to discover not only the key to the poem but the truth about a most diabolical murder