Death Before Dinner

ONE might have run into Elias Trowne anywhere East of Suez. He was a confirmed globe-trotter and had survived the most exciting and incredible adventures. Yet an ironic fate decreed that he should meet his death in a place at once tranquil and law-abiding, a little London restaurant esteemed by epicures, Le Jardin des Olives. One evening eight distinguished travellers and explorers were gathered together to be initiated into that famous and exclusive travellers' club, the Marco Polo. Before dinner 'it is discovered that the invitation is a hoax, and circumstances lead the disappointed guests to believe that Elias Trowne is the perpetrator. Later his dead body is found on the premises, and Inspector Macdonald, investigating the events of that tragic evening, is faced with a most complicated and baffling mystery.