The Hand in the Dark

Book excerpt: The aristocratic Phil Meredith chooses to marry Violet, a working-class girl from London, which raises more than a few eyebrows. However, when Violet decides to throw a party for her friends at her new country residence, she is murdered, leaving the guests in a state of shock. The arrival of two detectives, Merrington and Caldew, sets the investigation in motion. This is swiftly followed by the arrival of America’s greatest private eye, Grant Colwyn. Will he be able to work with the two policemen, or will he rely on his own methods to solve the case? ‘The Hand in the Dark’ is packed with red herrings, twists, and turns, and is sure to have even the most dedicated armchair detective guessing until the last page. Born in Melbourne, Arthur J. Rees (1872 – 1942) was an Australian author and journalist. After a brief spell working for the ‘Melbourne Age’ newspaper, he acted as a reporter for the ‘New Zealand Herald,’ before becoming the editor of the ‘New Zealand Truth.’ During his twenties, Rees left for England, where he worked as a journalist for the ‘London Times.’ It was during this period that he began his literary career, with the publication of ‘The Merry Marauders.’ Rees made his mark as a writer of crime and mystery novels and was most notably praised by the English crime writer, Dorothy L. Sayers.