Death of An Innocent Hardcover - 1989

Great Britain: Constable Crime, 1989. CV5 - A first British edition hardcover book in very good condition in very good dust jacket. Dust jacket has tiny dents and light shelf wear. Book has dog-eared pages on the last few pages, light discoloration and light shelf wear. 8.75"x5.5", 224 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Preserve life. Although not marked in any way, this copy comes from the personal collection of Otto Penzler, legendary editor and founder of the Mysterious Press, an award-winning icon in the genre. 8.75"x5.75", 224 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Richard Patton, an ex-detective inspector enjoying early retirement, is asked by his wife's old college friend, a successful novelist, to investigate unofficially a suspected burglary at her house overlooking the Norfolk Broads. Although the place is full of treasures, apparently there has been nothing stolen; no sign of fingerprints or footprints, just a broken roof tile and, Raffles-like, three telltale bags of Earl Grey tea. Yet Patton, digging deeper, soon discovers evidence of an apparent murder, a young woman's drowning which has been officially accepted as accidental. At this point, Richard finds his loyalties severely strained, and as his investigation progresses, he unearths a background of family strife sufficiently emotional to have provoked violence. But it is still unclear how the dead young woman could have been the victim. In pursuit of this conundrum, Richard traces the linking motivation, but, if he takes the matter further, he will provoke a situation in which the loyalties involved even come between himself and his wife. Reluctantly he withdraws, only to learn that another death has occurred. Realizing he might have prevented this second fatality, he returns to a final, angry and dramatic interrogation, which ultimately reveals the truth.. First British Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.