Crime Classics 113: Twice Round the Clock: Billie Houston

'It is past the half-hour. My time is coming nearer with every tick of the clock.' Horace Manning, scientist, recluse and 'closed book' even to his friends is found dead in his study at 4am, following a dinner in honour of his daughter Helen's engagement. An ivory-handled carving knife rests between his shoulder blades as the houseguests gather about to witness the awful crime. The telephone line has been sabotaged; a calculated murder has been committed. Rewinding twelve hours, the events of the afternoon and evening unfold, along with a multitude of motives from a closed cast of suspects and clues until the narrative reaches 4am again - then races on to its riveting conclusion at 4pm (twice round the clock). First published in 1935, this is a lively and unpretentious mystery thriller and a true lost gem of the Golden Age of crime writing.