BLACK AS HE'S PAINTED.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE-.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy,colour photographic illustrated dw/dj with red lower case author name,capitalised title lettering to front panel,red+b/w letters to spine and author's contemporary b/w portrait photograph on a white background to rear panel of dw/dj respectively; with negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners – tiny closed tear to front's lower edge towards foot of front corner,,a tiny nick on rear,top edge and to rear lower edge,another small,(approx. 2cm) closed tear,no other major nicks,tears or splits present. Top+fore-edges bright and clean virtually without blemish - no foxing/spotting; contents exceptionally bright,tight,clean,solid and sound – no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners – virtually pristine,appears unread,apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettering to spine/backstrip and immaculate/ clean plain white sets of endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,11-254pp [paginated] includes 10 chapters (includes Epilogue); plus [unpaginated] half-title with story precis and publisher's list of author's other works to its verso,title page,a dedication with author's thanks to verso,contents list/table with a b/w street plan to verso,Cast of Characters and to the rear,Coda with a blank verso. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional for a book of it's age, and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It is only the exterior faults described that prevent a slightly higher grading. Ngaio Marsh's 28th (of 33) novel to featuring Roderick Alleyn.Policeman hero of Chief Inspector (later Chief Superintendent - as in this novel) of the C.I.D. (Criminal Investigation Department), Scotland Yard,Metropolitan Police (London). The plot concerns the newly independent fictional African nation of Ng'ombwana,whose president and Alleyn went to school together,and a series of murders connected to its embassy in London. The novel was written in New Zealand in the late Spring and Summer of 1973,and a year later was on the Sunday Times best-seller list in the UK,as well as being a best-seller in the US. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.