The only thing plain to me is that you’re determined to shield that girl-that murderess.

Dodo Quarles liked to live fast. The parties in her Paris apartment were events to be remembered. Dodo, not yet twenty-one, could always be relied upon to supply a new thrill for her jaded guests. On this occasion, she had surpassed herself. Each guest had partaken of a rare dish-an Indian sweet which concealed a drug reputed to induce slumber and evocative dreams. But later that evening it emerged that murder was walking among them … and Dodo was stabbed to death.

Desire to Kill was originally published in 1934. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

She could not be unexciting if she tried Times Literary Supplement