The Cask (Dover Mystery Classics) - Softcover

Crofts, Freeman Wills

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486834417 ISBN 13: 9780486834412

Publisher: Dover Publications, 2019

Synopsis

"One of the classics of modern crime fiction." — The New York Times
While London dockworkers are struggling to unload a shipment of French wine, one of the heavy casks falls, shatters and reveals its cargo — sawdust, gold coins, and a female corpse. But by the time the police arrive, the barrel has vanished along with its macabre contents. Enter Inspector Burnley of Scotland Yard, who traces the cask to Paris, where he enlists the help of detective M. Lefarge of the Sūreté. Together, they hunt for the identity of the anonymous victim and her devious killer, traversing a maze of clues, alibis, red herrings, and lies.
This top-notch procedural, along with Agatha Christie's first novel, marked the start of the golden age of the detective story. Freeman Wills Crofts, one of the "Big Four" mystery writers of the era, provides fascinating insights into early twentieth-century methods of murder investigation as well as atmospheric glimpses of the shipping business in London and Paris in the years after World War I.

About this title

About the Author:

Irish-English mystery author Freeman Wills Crofts (1879–1957) was one of the "Big Four" writers of the golden age of detective fiction. After the publication of his first novel, The Cask, in 1920, he produced a book a year for nearly 30 years, including Antidote to Venom, The 12:30 from Croydon, and Inspector French's Greatest Case.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0486834417
• ISBN 13: 9780486834412
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288