Series
Publication
Penguin Books (1961)
Original publication date
1927
Collections
Description
In a gas-lit inn in the countryside a man lies dead. The police, of course, investigate - and so do Miles Bredon and his wife, in the interests of the Indescribable Insurance Company, with which the deceased man, Mr Mottram, had been heavily insured. The culprit is the three gas taps in Mr Mottram's room, and Miles hopes to prove that his death is suicide. Miles' old wartime colleague, Police Inspector Leyland, is convinced it's murder. And the conclusion is as ingenious as it is surprising.
User reviews
LibraryThing member JonRob
The first of Msgr. Knox's handful of detective stories is also probably the best. Insurance investigator Miles Bredon is sent to look into the death by gas of the rich Mr. Mottram. As there will be a huge payout if it was not suicide, Bredon initially supports this hypothesis. He finds himself in
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friendly rivalry with the policeman Leyland, who's trying to prove it was murder. The evidence seems finely balanced on both sides, and turns on the fact that the door was locked but the gas had been turned off - oddly, without any fingerprints being left. The solution Bredon eventually arrives at is satisfying and genuinely surprising Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780140014518
Other editions
The Three Taps by Ronald Knox (Digital audiobook)