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It was at that moment that Jack knew he had to kill.
The trouble began during a holiday in Paignton. When Jack met Mary, his future wife, he also met James Sprogson, a charming villain bent on destroying the couple's happiness. Mary distrusted Sprogson but Jack regarded him as a good fellow who drank and gambled a little too much, perhaps, but was harmless and likeable. However, Jack's association with Sprogson was to lead to robbery, blackmail and, at last, murder.
This is the eighth of the Doctor Manson mysteries, first published in 1950. A classic example of the inverted murder story, it is in the best tradition of the golden age detective novel. It further enhanced the reputation which E. and M.A. Radford established for themselves as writers of ingenious 'whodunits'.
About the author
Edwin Isaac Radford (1891-1973) and Mona Augusta Radford (1894-1990) were married in 1939. Edwin worked as a journalist, holding many editorial roles on Fleet Street in London, while Mona was a popular leading lady in musical-comedy and revues until her retirement from the stage.
The couple turned to crime fiction when they were both in their early fifties. Edwin described their collaborative formula as: "She kills them off, and I find out how she done it." Their primary series detective was Harry Manson who they introduced in 1944.
The Radfords spent their final years living in Worthing on the English South Coast. Dean Street Press have republished six of their classic mysteries: Murder Jigsaw, Murder Isn't Cricket, Who Killed Dick Whittington?, The Heel of Achilles, Death of a Frightened Editor, and Death and the Professor.
