"Detection and crime at its wittiest—all Berkeley's stories are amusing, intriguing and he is a master of the final twist." —Agatha Christie
In this classic Golden Age British mystery, Anthony Berkeley—the renowned author of the Roger Sheringham series—delivers a tense political thriller that starts with a shocking assassination . . .
The House of Commons has been breached in the most unthinkable manner. In the middle of his speech introducing a controversial bill, the Secretary of State for India collapses and dies. What is thought to be a stroke turns out to be a murder by poison—administered in the House itself.
The ghastly tragedy is a shot right at the heart of the British Empire. No one is more outraged than Lord Arthur Linton, who must gather his wits about him to uncover who killed his boss. His first course of action is to investigate a threatening letter sent before the speech. Initially considered a prank, it's found to be an all-too-real warning from violent terrorists who will stop at nothing to free India from British rule.
With every member of Parliament now under suspicion, Linton must root out treason in high places to stop a killing spree that could reach the Prime Minister himself, and throw the entire country into chaos . . .
"Anthony Berkeley is the supreme master not of the 'twist' but of the 'double-twist.'" — The Sunday Times
