In Raymond Chandler’s favourite novel, Mr Bowling buys the newspapers only to find out what the latest is on the murders he's just committed…

Mr Bowling is getting away with murder. On each occasion he buys a newspaper to see whether anyone suspects him. But there is a war on, and the clues he leaves are going unnoticed. Which is a shame, because Mr Bowling is not a conventional serial killer: he wants to get caught so that his torment can end. How many more newspapers must he buy before the police finally catch up with him?

Donald Henderson was an actor and playwright who had also written novels as D. H. Landels, but with little success. While working for the BBC in London during the Second World War, his fortunes finally changed with Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper, a darkly satirical portrayal of a murderer that was to be promoted enthusiastically by Raymond Chandler as his favourite detective novel. But even the author of The Big Sleep could not save it from oblivion: it has remained out of print for more than 60 years.

This Detective Club classic is introduced by award-winning novelist Martin Edwards, author of The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, who reveals new information about Henderson’s often troubled life and writing career.

In this top-tier mystery fiction, Mr Bowling's peculiar desire to be caught adds an unexpected twist to the conventional serial killer narrative. His purchases of newspapers, not for the headlines of war, but for the traces of his own crimes, create a chilling procedural that keeps the readers on edge.

For fans of Celia Fremlin (The Hours Before Dawn), Janice Hallett (The Killer Question), Mick Herron (Slow Horses), Josephine Tey (The Daughter of Time), and Margery Allingham (More Work for the Undertaker).

Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper (Detective Club Crime Classics)

Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper (Detective Club Crime Classics)