WHO HAD DISGUISED THEMSELVES TO COMMIT MURDER? AND WAS HAILA NEXT ON THE LIST?
Otis Block held perpetual open house in his penthouse atop Mrs. Girard's rooming house. Block was large, jovial, more than a bit of a
blackmailer, and an invalid. Haila Troy, awaiting the arrival of Jeff, her photographer husband, at Girard's, knew Block and was
aghast when she found his murdered body. Then she and several others saw a man who looked like Professor Simons, another of Mrs.
Girard's tenants, stumbling out of the penthouse.
Suspicion immediately centered on Professor Simons until it was proven that the man seen leaving the apartment was not, but was in
fact disguised as, the Professor. After that, as far as the police were concerned, everyone living there became a suspect.
Fortunately Jeff, who had solved a few murders before, returned just in time to investigate this one. Following a winding tangle of
trails, some of them dubious and others fruitful, he and Haila-with her uncanny ability to spot clues-will unravel the story behind
Mr. Block's murder while narrowly avoiding the focused attention of the actual killer.'
There Was a Crooked Man is a fast-moving story, spiced with humor, tense situations...and enough suspense to hold any reader's
interest.
"Jeff and Haila Troy, that engaging couple whose detective work, plus their flair for repartee, have thrilled and beguiled the readers of
Kelley Roos' mystery stories, are confronted with a baffling case in There Was a Crooked Man," wherein the murderer of the
housebound but popular Mr. Block impersonates the unobtrusive Professor Simons, who stays in the same boarding house as Block.
Jeff discovers many interesting clues which point first to one suspect then another. The murderer who seems to be on the spot follows
the developments with interest and is so well informed that it seems desirable to do away with Haila at the last moment. However this
plot does not succeed-on the contrary, through the attempt on Haila's life, the killer stands revealed." -The Davenport (IA) Daily
Times
"A new Kelley Roos mystery in which the gay and the grim, the scintillating and the sinister, are entertainingly woven about Jeff and
Haila, those delightful partners in crime detection." -The Omaha (NE) Sunday Visitor
"A Bedlam of suspicion and fear sprinkled with humor." -The Philadelphia (PA) Record.
"Out-of-the-ordinary characters . . . thrilling finish." -The Providence (RI) Journal.
"Exceptional job, unique characters and original tricks ... both sinister and amusing." -Washington (DC) Times Herald.
"Jeff and Haila Troy, who have pursued crime and criminals through half a dozen books, are at it again. This time the murder takes
place in a slightly shabby New York boarding house; the victim is a penthouse recluse, slain with a rapier from his own collection. A
well-sustained and entertaining yarn for whodunit fans." -Pasadena (CA) Star News
