The Clay Harrison Murder Omnibus: Dusty Death and The Man Without a Face

Clifton Robbins

In Dusty Death, respectable London landlady Mrs Humbleby hires barrister and part-time private detective, Clay Harrison, to solve the mystery of the apparent suicide of a secretive lodger, but the plot takes on more twists and turns that either had imagined.

Harrison, aided by his loyal clerk, Henry, and stimulated by endless tea and cigars, follows the clues the dead man has left behind. He ends up in Geneva at the League of Nations, on the trail of press tycoon Baron Meyerling, the attractive and devious gossip columnist Jeanne de Marplay, and rumours of a drug smuggling ring.

The second book The Man Without a Face sees barrister-turned-detective Clay Harrison summoned to the West Country by a Mrs William Marston, to 'keep an eye on things' while the Marstons stage a pageant to celebrate the birthday of their daughter Livia. Harrison feels the job is somewhat beneath him but is in need of the money and, when he arrives with his invaluable assistant Henry, he discovers there is more to this role than meets the eye.

It turns out that Harrison has been recommended to Mrs Marston by a family friend, Helen Williams, who bears more than a passing resemblance to his old foe, Jeanne de Marplay. When the Marstons' neighbour Sir Jeremiah Bamberger dies under mysterious circumstances, Harrison is called upon to solve the crime, and uncovers dark family secrets in the process.