{"product_id":"9780008342449_the-cask-detective-club-crime-classics","title":"The Cask (Detective Club Crime Classics)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the Collins Crime Club archive, the seminal first novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’ and recognised as one of the ‘big four’ Golden Age crime authors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe unloading of a consignment of French wine from the steamship Bullfinch is interrupted by a gruesome discovery in a broken cask leaking sawdust and gold sovereigns. But when the shipping clerk returns with the police, the cask and its macabre contents have gone. Following the clues to Paris, Inspector Burnley of Scotland Yard enlists the help of the genial French detective M. Lefarge to check motives and alibis in their hunt for evidence of a particularly fiendish murder.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis Detective Story Club classic is introduced by Freeman Wills Crofts himself in a unique preface from 1946 about The Cask’s origins.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFreeman Wills Crofts The Cask is an international bestseller that masterfully combines traditional procedural elements with the intrigue of mystery fiction. The narrative transports the reader from London to Paris, painting a vivid picture of a thrilling investigation that has made this book a top choice among detective story lovers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor fans of Ethel Lina White (PUT OUT THE LIGHT), Dorothy L. Sayers (Striding Folly), Elly Griffiths (The Last Remains), George Bellairs (Toll the Bell for Murder), and Edward Marston (Murder in Transit).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Freeman Wills Crofts, Introduction by Freeman Wills Crofts, Read by Gordon Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46889506996373,"sku":"9780008342449","price":39.49,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780008342449_75bf8969-dad4-4860-85bb-8255eddbb282.jpg?v=1776888601","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780008342449_the-cask-detective-club-crime-classics","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}