An Open Window, Roger Ormerod

Roger Ormerod

ISBN 10: 0094682305 / ISBN 13: 9780094682306

Published by Constable, 1988

About this Item

Publication: London, Constable & Company Limited, 1988

Formatting: 8vo, pp. 205.

Condition Report: Near Fine. Binding is tight and square, with sharp corners and un-bumped boards. The spine features striking silver lettering that remains bright and completely unoxidised. The text block is exceptionally clean; while the page edges display the faintest trace of age-toning typical of 1980s paper stock, they remain entirely free from foxing, markings, or internal blemishes. The original dust jacket is equally impressive, presenting a bright, glossy finish and a unclipped front flap bearing the original £9.95 net price. It exhibits no chipping or tears and is perfectly preserved beneath a clear, protective mylar sleeve. An exceptional, highly collectible copy.

Catalogue Note: True first edition, first printing of Roger Ormerod's twenty-fifth crime novel, issued in the publisher's original black cloth binding. The dust jacket correctly attributes the novel to the acclaimed "Constable Crime" imprint.

Adding significant literary association value to this copy is a warm presentation inscription on the title page, boldly penned in black ink: "To Eileen / Love from Roger.". The recipient of this copy is Eileen Dewhurst, a respected English mystery and crime writer in her own right. Such an association highlights a charming personal connection between two prolific contemporaries of the 20th-century British crime fiction scene.

Signed first editions of Ormerod's earlier titles, particularly those with notable authorial associations, remain increasingly uncommon on the open market.

With his twenty-fifth crime novel, Roger Ormerod deploys elements of subtle elucidation he has not previously explored. Walter Mann had become a virtual recluse, locking himself away in his rooms. When he is discovered dead with the doorkey still on its chain around his neck, the obvious conclusion is suicideā "but in which case, why? Facing enmity and suspicion from the family, and actively discouraged by the police, Richard explores a potential link between Mann's demise and the equally suspicious earlier death of his son-in-law. The deployment of shares in the family business, a savage attack of reprisal, and a drama of love and betrayal all lead to a violent denouement where Richard finally uncovers the truth of the open window.

Seller Inventory # 4062-RM-FS-VG-4

Bibliographic Details

• Title: An Open Window, Roger Ormerod
• Publisher: Constable
• Publication Date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0094682305
• ISBN 13: 9780094682306
• Binding: Cloth
• Illustrator: N/A
• Edition: 1.
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

As Amelia Patton approaches a caravan parked in their usual spot, it explodes, killing the woman inside.

As she recovers in a hospital near the Welsh coast, she learns that she is the residual legatee in her uncle’s will.

As she cannot attend the reading herself, her husband, ex-Detective Inspector Richard Patton, drives to the Midlands on her behalf.

He finds that the word ‘residual’ can be extremely deceptive, and that the will is bound to provoke trouble between the children of Amelia’s eccentric uncle, Walter Mann, who died just two days after signing the new will.

Richard is intrigued by this: Walter had become a virtual recluse and locked himself away in his rooms.

But when he was found, having fallen from the third-story window and through the roof of his conservatory, the key for the door was on its chain around his neck.

Was it suicide? In which case—why?

Or if it was murder, as Patton believes, how had the culprit entered the room?

And why the open window?

Faced with enmity and suspicion, and strongly discouraged from intervening by the police, controversies over shares in the family business, and a drama of love and betrayal, all make this one of Richard’s most difficult cases yet—especially with him hundreds of miles away from the hospitalised Amelia, and wondering whether the caravan explosion was in fact intended for her…

'An Open Window' is a complex crime thriller from a master of the genre.

Praise for Roger Ormerod:

‘Roger Ormerod is an accomplished writer of traditional murder mysteries who has earned himself not only popular success but also the respect and admiration of his colleagues...This is a strongly characterised, intellectually teasing story with a nail-biting climax, which any crime fiction buff ought to relish.’ James Melville, Hampstead & Highgate Express.

Roger Ormerod is the author of over twenty novels. He was born in 1920 and left school at seventeen to join the Civil Service in which he spent most of his working life. He retired in 1970 and later worked as a postman and in the production control department of a heavy industry factory. He lives in Wolverhampton. His other novels include ‘A Shot At Nothing’, ‘Third Time Fatal’, ‘The Key to the Case’ and ‘The Night She Died’.

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