BLUE MURDER

That settles it, thought Smith savagely. He shall be murdered, even if I have to do it myself! The Hardstaffe family are not the nicest people in the world. In fact, he &ndash, schoolteacher, lothario and bully, she &ndash, chronic malcontent &ndash, and their horsey unmarried adult daughter seem to be prime candidates for murder. A writer planning these deaths, on paper at least, and a young girl, chased by old Hardstaffe, are the only outsiders in a deliciously neat, but nasty, case. Blue Murder was the last of Harriet Rutland&rsquo,s mystery novels, first published in 1942. This new edition, the first in over 70 years, features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans. &lsquo,(A) newcomer of exceptional promise&rsquo, Howard Haycroft_,