notably her The Mousetrap and Other Plays (1978), which includes Ten Little Indians. Various other books on Christie were delved into: Agatha Christie A to Z (1996), Dawn B. Sova, Ph.D.; Agatha Christie: First Lady of Crime (1977), edited by H.R.F. Keating; Murder She Wrote: A Study of Agatha Christie’s Detective Fiction (1982), Patricia D. Maida and Nicholas B. Spornick; The Mysterious World of Agatha Christie (1975), Jeffrey Feinman; and The New Bedside, Bathtub and Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie (1992), edited by Dick Riley and Pam McAllister. Robert Barnard’s A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie (1979, 1980), while interesting, is typical of the supposedly pro-Christie critics who underestimate her abilities.
Book-length works on the principal detectives in the case proved particularly fruitful: The Scalpel of Scotland Yard: The Life of Sir Bernard Spilsbury (1952), Douglas G. Browne and E. V. Tullett; War on the Underworld (1960), Ex-Detective Chief Superintendent Edward Greeno, M.B.E. (who appears to be the inspiration for John Thaw’s “Regan” character on the popular 1970s UK television series The Sweeney); and Cherrill of the Yard (1954), Fred Cherrill. All of these have chapters devoted to the Blackout Ripper. The most detailed, ironically, is in the autobiography of Cherrill, the fingerprint expert whose presence in this novel is largely peripheral.
This novel is the first book-length work on the Blackout Ripper murder spree, which is largely unknown in the United States, allowing me the conceit of presenting a true-crime case in mystery format. Hardcore true-crime buffs in the UK may recognize this case, as it has been frequently written up in British true-crime anthologies and overviews.
Among the UK publications of that type that were consulted are The Chronicle of Crime (1993), Martin Fido; Volumes Eight and Seventeen of Crimes and Punishment: A Pictorial Encyclopedia of Aberrant Behavior (1974), edited by Jackson Morley; and The Detectives: Crime and Detection in Fact and Fiction (1978), Frank Smyth and Myles Ludwig. A British weekly publication, Murder Casebook: Investigations in the Ultimate Crime, Issue 72 (1991), “Blackout Killers,” was particularly helpful (another George Hagenauer find).
Where the Blitz era in London is concerned, I leaned heavily on one book—London at War (1995) by Phillip Ziegler—and I offer my sincere thanks to the author. Other helpful books on the Blitz era include The Home-front: The British and the Second World War (1976), Arthur Marwick; Keep Smiling Through: The Home Front 1939–45 (1975), Susan Briggs; The London Blitz (1980), David Johnson; and the delightful picture book The Wartime Scrapbook: From Blitz to Victory 1939–1945 (1995), compiled by Robert Opie.
I make no pretense at being knowledgeable about London and any errors herein, geographical and otherwise, are my own. To whatever degree I have been accurate, however, I owe thanks to a “walking guide” book, providing key information about Blitz-vintage London: The Face of London by Harold P. Clunn, an undated volume circa 1956; this was yet another George Hagenauer discovery. A helpful volume on crime and policework was London After Dark (1954) by Ex-Superintendent Robert Fabian.
I am extremely grateful to my editor, Natalee Rosenstein of Berkley Prime Crime, for her patience. An ambitious but misjudged false start on this novel—patterned upon Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (narrated by Cummins!)—required a request for a deadline extension, which Natalee kindly granted.
This enabled my wife, writer Barbara Collins, and me to take advantage of a trip to London for the premiere of the film Road to Perdition and visit numerous of the actual locations, from Agatha’s Lawn Road flat to every murder site. Thank you to driver Rudi Allman of Hanover Chauffeurs, whose driving was far superior to Sir Bernard Spilsbury’s.
Thanks also to my friend and agent Dominick Abel, who lent his usual support during a busy, trying time. My wife helped out by reading Agatha’s wonderful but long autobiography so that we could discuss and explore Agatha’s character, in my attempt to solve the mystery of Christie. For many months we listened to unabridged audios of Poirot novels ordered from the UK, and read by actors David Suchet and Hugh Fraser; never has research been such a pleasure.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo credit: Bamford Studio
Max Allan Collins is the New York Times best-selling author of The Road to Perdition and multiple award-winning novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations, and historical fiction. He has scripted the Dick Tracy comic strip, Batman comic books, and written tie-in novels based on the CSI, Bones, and Dark Angel TV series; collaborated with legendary mystery author Mickey Spillane; and authored numerous mystery novels including the Quarry, Nolan, Mallory, and Nathan Heller series. His additional Disaster series mystery novels include The Lusitania Murders, The Titanic Murders, The Hindenburg Murders, The Pearl Harbor Murders, and The War of the Worlds Murder.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication Page
CONTENTS
BEFORE...
FEBRUARY 9, 1942
ONE: SCANT SHELTER
TWO: PRESCRIPTION: MURDER
THREE: TEN LITTLE ACTRESSES
FEBRUARY 10, 1942
FOUR: DRESSED FOR MURDER
FIVE: PRIVACY IN A PUBLIC HOUSE
FEBRUARY 11, 1942
SIX: A QUIET MORNING
FEBRUARY 12, 1942
SEVEN: A WOMAN’S TOUCH
FEBRUARY 13, 1942
EIGHT: SURVIVORS
NINE: SMASHING SUCCESS
TEN: SUITABLE FOR FRAMING
AFTER...
APPLAUSE IN THE DARK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR