We've got to have a body.

That's what what detective Ludovic Travers says, after being contacted by one Lord Tynworth. Tynworth's wife has vanished and his lordship wants her found - yet strangely doesn't seem especially keen on getting her back. When Travers walks into the case, he enters a hall of mirrors. In it are thoroughbred horses, their trainers, at least one man determined not to tell the truth . . . and a burnt corpse.

The missing woman is a former crooner, and once again Travers must investigate the world of showbusiness on his way to discovering the truth. Meanwhile the cash-strapped Tynworth disappears to America - and then just disappears entirely. Travers narrowly escapes with his life before he brings the diabolical affair to a head, and solves the case.

The Case of the Benevolent Bookie was originally published in 1955. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

"A provocative puzzle" New York Times