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A Gun to Play with
(1956)(The fourth book in the Inspector Pitt Detective series)
A novel by J F Straker
Toby Vanne, an American airman on leave in Brighton, finds the dead body of a girl in a field near Lewes.
Before reporting the grisly find to police, Toby spots a piece of paper lying near the corpse and, assuming it to be litter, picks it up and puts it in his pocket.
The girl, soon identified as local girl Cathie Wilkes, has been shot in the back with the type of revolver that was used to murder a shopkeeper in nearby Forest Row.
Cathie is thought to have recently run off with petty criminal, Joseph Landor.
On the night of the Forest Row shooting, a mysterious couple pull up in a Daimler outside the cafe where Geoffrey Taylor works.
Taylor feels uneasy towards the late-night visitors and thinks their behaviour is suspicious.
The next day, an abandoned Daimler turns up in nearby Jevington and police find fingerprints on it belonging to Landor.
But Landor is nowhere to be found.
Meanwhile a car reported stolen by local sales representative George Waide is recovered by police and the dead girl’s fingerprints are found on the steering wheel.
Is Waide hiding something?
Toby later remembers the piece of paper in his pocket and is surprised to find it is a hand-drawn map of an area in Brighton.
Could the map be a clue to the murders?
Toby decides to begin his own investigations.
He takes into his confidence a charming young widow, Crossetta Tait.
The map leads Toby and Crossetta to a garage in a lonely, dark street in pursuit of a suspect.
But Crossetta’s thirst for danger throws the pair into worrying situations and almost gets Toby killed.
When two more bodies are found and it soon becomes clear that someone wants Toby dead.
But who?
Has Toby gotten too far out of his depth by taking the law into his own hands?
Should he risk telling the police about the map?
It might just save his life...
Or it might prove that A Gun to Play With can be a force of death and destruction…
'A perfectly plotted story that is both chilling and memorable.' - Robert Foster, best-selling author of The Lunar Code.
J F Straker was born in Farnborough, Kent and lived in Sussex. During the war he served with The Buffs and on the General Staff and then became a schoolmaster. His interest in writing began at an early age but it was not until the war when he had to spend long periods in the desert with very little distraction that he completed his first novel. He was the author of twenty-five novels including Murder of Miss Emily and Death on a Sunday Morning.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7
Genre: Mystery
Before reporting the grisly find to police, Toby spots a piece of paper lying near the corpse and, assuming it to be litter, picks it up and puts it in his pocket.
The girl, soon identified as local girl Cathie Wilkes, has been shot in the back with the type of revolver that was used to murder a shopkeeper in nearby Forest Row.
Cathie is thought to have recently run off with petty criminal, Joseph Landor.
On the night of the Forest Row shooting, a mysterious couple pull up in a Daimler outside the cafe where Geoffrey Taylor works.
Taylor feels uneasy towards the late-night visitors and thinks their behaviour is suspicious.
The next day, an abandoned Daimler turns up in nearby Jevington and police find fingerprints on it belonging to Landor.
But Landor is nowhere to be found.
Meanwhile a car reported stolen by local sales representative George Waide is recovered by police and the dead girl’s fingerprints are found on the steering wheel.
Is Waide hiding something?
Toby later remembers the piece of paper in his pocket and is surprised to find it is a hand-drawn map of an area in Brighton.
Could the map be a clue to the murders?
Toby decides to begin his own investigations.
He takes into his confidence a charming young widow, Crossetta Tait.
The map leads Toby and Crossetta to a garage in a lonely, dark street in pursuit of a suspect.
But Crossetta’s thirst for danger throws the pair into worrying situations and almost gets Toby killed.
When two more bodies are found and it soon becomes clear that someone wants Toby dead.
But who?
Has Toby gotten too far out of his depth by taking the law into his own hands?
Should he risk telling the police about the map?
It might just save his life...
Or it might prove that A Gun to Play With can be a force of death and destruction…
Praise for J F Straker
'A perfectly plotted story that is both chilling and memorable.' - Robert Foster, best-selling author of The Lunar Code.
J F Straker was born in Farnborough, Kent and lived in Sussex. During the war he served with The Buffs and on the General Staff and then became a schoolmaster. His interest in writing began at an early age but it was not until the war when he had to spend long periods in the desert with very little distraction that he completed his first novel. He was the author of twenty-five novels including Murder of Miss Emily and Death on a Sunday Morning.
Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7
Genre: Mystery
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