Fergus Hume

The Gentleman Who Vanished Fergus Hume

An argument over a game of cards turns deadly in this tense British murder mystery from Fergus Hume, author of The Wooden Hand. Hot-tempered gambler Adrian Lancaster is down on his luck. His friend Philip Trevanna is pressing him to settle a thousand pound debt, suggesting he ask his new heiress wife Olive Maunders for the money. When Adrian rejects the idea, Philip taunts him and cruelly rifles a deck of cards into his face. Adrian reacts by hurling a decanter at Philip which hits his friend hard on the head and cracks his skull open. Adrian panics and, after feeling Philip for a pulse, impulsively flees the scene, reasoning that the shame of being associated with a murderer would be too much for Olive to bear. He feverishly walks the empty moonlit streets of London, wrestling with his conscience. But there is something he doesn't know ... Philip isn't dead and now he wants more than just a thousand pounds from Adrian.