When Laurence Todhunter learns he has mere months to live due to a heart condition, the mild-mannered bachelor resolves to make a grand contribution to humanity: He will rid the world of the worst person he can find. He's just about given up his goal when he comes across the perfect candidate: the glamorous Jean Norwood, a semifamous actress with a slew of destitute suitors and broken families in her wake. But when an innocent man is arrested for the murder, the horrified Todhunter finds himself in the rather awkward predicament of having to prove his own guilt. This reissued crime classic, first published in 1937, turns the whodunit formula on its head, resulting in a delightfully offbeat mystery/courtroom farce that manages to keep you guessing until the very end!
Anthony Berkeley. Paperback, 269 pages; 2016 (1937)