{"product_id":"9780008333966_the-pit-prop-syndicate","title":"The Pit-Prop Syndicate","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the Collins Crime Club archive, the third standalone novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeymour Merriman’s holiday in France comes to an abrupt halt when his motorcycle starts leaking petrol. Following a lorry to find fuel, he discovers that it belongs to an English company making timber pit-props for coal mines back home. His suspicions of illegal activity are aroused when he sees the exact same lorry with a different number plate – and confirmed later with the shocking discovery of a body. What began as amateur detective work ends up as a job for Inspector Willis of Scotland Yard, a job requiring tenacity, ingenuity and guile . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFreeman Wills Crofts’ transition from civil engineer on the Irish railways to world-renowned master of the detective mystery began with \u003cem\u003eThe Cask\u003c\/em\u003e when he was fully 40 years old; but it was his third novel, the baffling \u003cem\u003eThe Pit-Prop Syndicate\u003c\/em\u003e, that was singled out by his editors in 1930 as the first for inclusion in Collins’ prestigious new series of reprints ‘for crime connoisseurs’.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis Detective Club classic is introduced by John Curran, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Hooded Gunman\u003c\/em\u003e, and includes the bonus of an exclusive short story by Crofts, ‘Danger in Shroude Valley’.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Freeman Wills Crofts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46897282580629,"sku":"9780008333966","price":22.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008333966.png?v=1777422806","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008333966_the-pit-prop-syndicate","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}