"Though
used
to dealing in character assassination
and verbal back-stabbing, the literary clique gathered at the
house-party
of Mervyn Blake, famous author and critic, is shocked when their host
is
found dead in his writing room. The cause of death cannot be
determined.
Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, forgoing a holiday to assist
the
Victorian police in the investigation, quickly adapts himself to the
world
of literary hates and jealousies. With little to go on, Bony gradually
pieces
together the mystery. A cat, a ping-pong ball, an alcoholic
gardener--these
unlikely clues suggest the lines of investigation, but it is Bony's
observation
of human nature and some shrewd literary sleuthing and finally
uncovered
the murder method, and the murderer. "Bony has been asked to investigate the case of Mervyn Blake, who had died of unknown causes nearly two months before, so that the case is nearly as cold as the author-critic. Bony is staying with Miss Pinkerton as a visitor, and in his gentle way he persuades everybody to talk to him about what they know or even just guess. By sifting through this mass of information and adding his own observations he is finally able to face the guilty person with the knowledge of how the crime was committed–a most unusual method of murder authenticated by Taylor's Principles and Practice of MedicalJurisprudence." – from "The Armchair Detective Location: Yarrabo, Victoria. An Author Bites the Dust was printed in 1948 by Angus and Robertson of Sydney and by Doubleday's Crime Club. The 1984 Arkon edition printed by Angus and Robertson is shown above.
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