‘At 8 o’clock in the evening on the 8th November, there was a terrific explosion in Green Lane, Evingden.’
The offices of the Excelsior Joinery Company have been blown to smithereens and three of the company directors lie dead amongst the rubble. When the presence of dynamite is revealed, Superintendent Littlejohn of Scotland Yard is summoned to the scene. Beneath the sleepy veneer of Evingden lies a hotbed of deep-rooted grievances. The new subject of the town’s talk, Littlejohn’s investigation is soon confounded by an impressive cast of suspicious persons, each concealing their own axe to grind.
First published in 1964, Bellairs’ novel of small-town grudges with explosive consequences remains a gripping masterpiece of misdirection.