Sir Basil Riordan is mysterious, frightening, and an immensely wealthy man. But is he also a killer?

As head of England’s elite secret service agency, Department Z, Gordon Craigie has to find out. And it’s not going to be an easy investigation – too many important people are involved. With a member of an exclusive London Club poisoned, Craigie is forced to question whether Riordan or his son, Marcus, could really be involved?

Craigie assigns his best agent, Devenish, to find the truth. But what Devenish discovers is no clear-cut case of homicide. It is a mad masquerade of murder, larceny, and deceit of the highest order.

Before long, it looks like he and Craigie are in over their heads…

First Came a Murder (1934) is the third in John Creasey‘s Department Z series.