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Death waits for no one...
Charles Leithan has been unhappily married for years.
Under normal circumstances, he would have long since divorced his wife for his beloved mistress, but these are not normal circumstances.
Leithan has inherited a significant sum of money, but the conditions state that the instigator of a divorce would forfeit the entirety of the money to the other party.
Unwilling to try to make a living through his mediocre writing, Leithan suffers his corpulent wife and her obsession with pedigreed dogs, sneaking in visits to his mistress whenever she goes out of town.
When Mrs Leithan suddenly disappears, Charles calmly assures the police that he is certain his wife has simply gone away on another visit and there is nothing to worry about.
But the police are suspicious and they're sure that Charles Leithan knows considerably more about his wife's disappearance than he is letting on.
The fact that there is a great deal of money involved, and the conditions set upon the possession and use of it, would be damning enough.
And with Charles's visits to his mistress becoming less and less secretive, it is clear that he is no longer scared of getting caught by his wife, or anyone else for that matter.
The police are certain that Charles is behind his wife's mysterious disappearance and it's not long before they think they're got the case cracked.
Believing they have solved the mystery, the police bring a murder charge before a jury.
The only problem is that there is no body...
The Benefits of Death is an unputdownable thriller with an almighty twist in the tale.
'Jeffries' fresh twists and excellent characterizations make any novel by him an exciting reading experience.' - San Francisco Chronicle
'... a stubbornly appealing, believable hero and a neat ironic twist at the close.' - Kirkus Reviews
'A first-rate whodunit turning on the resourcefulness of a country gentleman who exploits the process of the law to delay its action. Author on the top of his legal and social form.' - Francis Goff, Sunday Telegraph
'Tension builds up and there are two exciting court scenes. Roderic Jeffries established a very high reputation for himself in the field of the legal thriller with Exhibit No. Thirteen and Dead Against the Lawyers. Once again he has used a little known quirk of the law, and woven round it an enthralling story of immense intricacy.' - Maurice Richardson, Observer
'The resulting legal intricacies make fascinating reading.' - Hester Makeig, - Spectator
'First-class, smoothly told, fine court scenes and sketches of lawyers entirely absorbing.' - John Clarke, Evening Standard
'The most ingenious of Mr. Jeffries's exercises in legal trickery.' - Julian Symons, Sunday Times
'Good court scenes; very competent.' - Peter Dickinson, Punch
'...is for the mystery story connoisseur and particularly the man who can appreciate this ingenious exercise in legal trickery.' - Police World
Roderic Jeffries was born in London in 1926 and went to sea in 1943. Six years later he left that trade to become a lawyer. He again changed profession to become a writer. Since 1951, he has written over one hundred and sixty novels under his own name and several other pseudonyms. He began his career by writing books featuring his father's character, Blackshirt, a popular detective whose adventures have appeared in print for many decades. In time Jeffries branched out and began to write a variety of mystery novels under his own name and several pen names, including Peter Alding and Jeffrey Ashford.
Genre: Mystery
Charles Leithan has been unhappily married for years.
Under normal circumstances, he would have long since divorced his wife for his beloved mistress, but these are not normal circumstances.
Leithan has inherited a significant sum of money, but the conditions state that the instigator of a divorce would forfeit the entirety of the money to the other party.
Unwilling to try to make a living through his mediocre writing, Leithan suffers his corpulent wife and her obsession with pedigreed dogs, sneaking in visits to his mistress whenever she goes out of town.
When Mrs Leithan suddenly disappears, Charles calmly assures the police that he is certain his wife has simply gone away on another visit and there is nothing to worry about.
But the police are suspicious and they're sure that Charles Leithan knows considerably more about his wife's disappearance than he is letting on.
The fact that there is a great deal of money involved, and the conditions set upon the possession and use of it, would be damning enough.
And with Charles's visits to his mistress becoming less and less secretive, it is clear that he is no longer scared of getting caught by his wife, or anyone else for that matter.
The police are certain that Charles is behind his wife's mysterious disappearance and it's not long before they think they're got the case cracked.
Believing they have solved the mystery, the police bring a murder charge before a jury.
The only problem is that there is no body...
The Benefits of Death is an unputdownable thriller with an almighty twist in the tale.
Praise for Roderic Jeffries
'Jeffries' fresh twists and excellent characterizations make any novel by him an exciting reading experience.' - San Francisco Chronicle
'... a stubbornly appealing, believable hero and a neat ironic twist at the close.' - Kirkus Reviews
'A first-rate whodunit turning on the resourcefulness of a country gentleman who exploits the process of the law to delay its action. Author on the top of his legal and social form.' - Francis Goff, Sunday Telegraph
'Tension builds up and there are two exciting court scenes. Roderic Jeffries established a very high reputation for himself in the field of the legal thriller with Exhibit No. Thirteen and Dead Against the Lawyers. Once again he has used a little known quirk of the law, and woven round it an enthralling story of immense intricacy.' - Maurice Richardson, Observer
'The resulting legal intricacies make fascinating reading.' - Hester Makeig, - Spectator
'First-class, smoothly told, fine court scenes and sketches of lawyers entirely absorbing.' - John Clarke, Evening Standard
'The most ingenious of Mr. Jeffries's exercises in legal trickery.' - Julian Symons, Sunday Times
'Good court scenes; very competent.' - Peter Dickinson, Punch
'...is for the mystery story connoisseur and particularly the man who can appreciate this ingenious exercise in legal trickery.' - Police World
Roderic Jeffries was born in London in 1926 and went to sea in 1943. Six years later he left that trade to become a lawyer. He again changed profession to become a writer. Since 1951, he has written over one hundred and sixty novels under his own name and several other pseudonyms. He began his career by writing books featuring his father's character, Blackshirt, a popular detective whose adventures have appeared in print for many decades. In time Jeffries branched out and began to write a variety of mystery novels under his own name and several pen names, including Peter Alding and Jeffrey Ashford.
Genre: Mystery
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