"The gentleman in Number Fifty-four-Mr. Griggs-''e''s been murdered!"

Albert Griggs, the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, is considering an important case. Two brothers have killed a servant-girl in the course of a robbery. Griggs looks at the facts carefully and comes to his final decision - he will not overturn the death penalty.

Was it this execution that led to Griggs being found shot in a hotel room? Or the fact that he had been accused by taking liberties with a certain young lady? Griggs had many enemies - and one of them hated him enough to murder him. But when Anthony Bathurst investigates, he finds something even more perplexing - how is the murder linked to the poisoning of Daphne Arbuthnot, an actress, on stage in the middle of a performance? And how is the Ku Klux Klan involved?

The Fortescue Candle was originally published in 1936. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Steve Barge.

"The gentleman in Number Fifty-four-Mr. Griggs-''e''s been murdered!"

Albert Griggs, the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, is considering an important case. Two brothers have killed a servant-girl in the course of a robbery. Griggs looks at the facts carefully and comes to his final decision - he will not overturn the death penalty.

Was it this execution that led to Griggs being found shot in a hotel room? Or the fact that he had been accused by taking liberties with a certain young lady? Griggs had many enemies - and one of them hated him enough to murder him. But when Anthony Bathurst investigates, he finds something even more perplexing - how is the murder linked to the poisoning of Daphne Arbuthnot, an actress, on stage in the middle of a performance? And how is the Ku Klux Klan involved?

The Fortescue Candle was originally published in 1936. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Steve Barge.

"The gentleman in Number Fifty-four-Mr. Griggs-''e''s been murdered!"

Albert Griggs, the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, is considering an important case. Two brothers have killed a servant-girl in the course of a robbery. Griggs looks at the facts carefully and comes to his final decision - he will not overturn the death penalty.

Was it this execution that led to Griggs being found shot in a hotel room? Or the fact that he had been accused by taking liberties with a certain young lady? Griggs had many enemies - and one of them hated him enough to murder him. But when Anthony Bathurst investigates, he finds something even more perplexing - how is the murder linked to the poisoning of Daphne Arbuthnot, an actress, on stage in the middle of a performance? And how is the Ku Klux Klan involved?

The Fortescue Candle was originally published in 1936. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Steve Barge.