Hardback. Signed first edition. Signed by H. R. F. Keating to the title page. Thriller. Keating’s second novel before he began his successful Inspector Ghote series. Keating served as chairman of the CWA (1970-71); president of the Detection Club (1985-2000), a group of mystery writers; and chairman of the Society of Authors (1983-84) and in 1996 was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger by the CWA. Red boards with gilt titles to spine are very clean and neat. Foxed to prelims and to closed page edges. Yellow dust jacket is lightly tanned to spine and has some scattered foxing plus a couple of tiny nicks to the edges.