Case of the Violet Smoke

New York: Mystery House. Very Good in Very Good dj. 1940. First American Edition. Hardcover. [a good sound copy, slight exposure of board at one bottom corner, two tape-residue marks on each pastedown; the jacket is edgeworn, with some very shallow paper loss along the top edge, a couple of short closed tears, several small internal tape-repairs, moderate scuffing/surface wear, and a 2.5" split at the top front flapfold]. A mystery with a background of industrial espionage, with a "cunningly devised murder" the primary clue to which is a mysterious violet smoke. The case is assigned to the author's series characters, Detective-Inspector Cross and his assistant Sgt. Johnny Lamb, of the (London) Metropolitan Police -- the latter, conveniently, being the "son of Europe's most brilliant chemist." Lamb's "cold logic, keen hunches, and an uncanny knowledge of chemical secrets lead [him] to spurn the obvious and finally ensnare the assassin." The prolific author, who wrote under a number of other pseudonyms, was a one-time secretary to Edgar Wallace and a co-founder of the Crime Writers Association. All his "Donavan" books are quite scarce. This title was previously published in England under the title "The Case of the Coloured Wind." .