In the smoke-wreathed gloom of a Parisian salon, Inspector Bencolin has summoned his allies to discuss a peculiar case. A would-be murderer, imprisoned for his attempt to kill his wife, has escaped and is known to have visited a plastic surgeon. The fugitive’s whereabouts are uncertain, though with his former wife poised to marry again, Bencolin predicts his return.
Sure enough, the Inspector’s worst suspicions are realised when the beheaded body of the new suitor is discovered in a locked room of the salon, from which it appears nobody could have escaped unseen. The challenge set, Bencolin sets off into the Parisian night to unravel the dumbfounding mystery and track down the sadistic killer.
This new edition of Carr’s first mystery novel also includes the rare Inspector Bencolin short story ‘The Shadow of the Goat’.