A tip from an ex-convict seems implausible--but Inspector Ian Rutledge is intrigued and brings it to his superior at Scotland Yard. Alan Barrington, who has evaded capture for ten years, is the suspect in an appalling murder during Black Ascot, the famous 1910 royal horserace honoring the late King Edward VII. His disappearance began a manhunt that consumed Britain for a decade. Now it appears that Barrington has turned to England, giving Scotland...

A man is murdered at a society wedding held at Ely Cathedral, and the local police are mystified. In the end, they send for Scotland Yard, but not before another man is killed. This time, there's a witness, but her description of the killer is so strange that no one believes her. So it's Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge's task to find out who the murderer is and why he has set out on this killing spree, because there is another death, and the...

"A peaceful Welsh village is thrown into turmoil when a terrified boy discovers a body in the river. The man appears to have fallen from the canal aqueduct spanning the valley. But there is no identification on the body. The local police turn to Scotland Yard for help. Inspector Ian Rutledge is given few clues to go on--a faded military tattoo on the victim's arm and an unusual label in his shirt. But eventually they do lead to the victim's identity:...