Up and up crept the weight. Its touch was cold and scaly; she shuddered at the contact. At the same dreadful moment she realised what the Thing was.

Esther Rowe, a Canadian, is on holiday in Cannes. She decides to stay on, and seeks nursing employment with the enigmatic and elusive Dr. Gregory Santorius. She finds herself caring for the ageing invalid Sir Charles Clifford, and meets various members of his family, some nice-some less so.

Certain suspicious events seem to indicate that someone wants Sir Charles out of the way-after all, there’s a will to be considered. When Sir Charles meets his demise, it appears that the causes of death are natural. Edith isn’t so sure-and finds herself caught up in murderous machinations. But will she have an ally to protect her and help her solve this macabre mystery-and escape death herself?

Juggernaut, Alice Campbell’s first crime novel, was originally published in 1928, and later made into a film starring Boris Karloff. As in many of her novels, the setting is France. The milieu is rich, cosmopolitan and vividly rendered, the plot intriguing to the very end. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

She could not be unexciting if she tried Times Literary Supplement