Political Suicide

New York: Dell Publishing Co. Inc, 1987. First printing [stated]. Mass market paperback. Good. [6], 218 pages. Cover has some wear. Small edge tear at page 211/2. Cover states "1st Time in Paperback". Signed by the author on the title page. Robert Barnard (23 November 1936 - 19 September 2013) was an English crime writer, critic and lecturer. His first crime novel, A Little Local Murder, was published in 1976. The novel was written while he was a lecturer at University of Tromsø in Norway. He went on to write more than 40 other books and numerous short stories. Barnard said that his favorite crime writer was Agatha Christie. In 1980 he published a critique of her work titled A Talent to Deceive: An Appreciation of Agatha Christie. Barnard was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2003 by the Crime Writers Association for a lifetime of achievement. Under the pseudonym Bernard Bastable, Robert Barnard published two standalone novels and two alternate history books starring Wolfgang Mozart as a detective, he having survived to old age. Barnard takes on the cunning and ruthless world of politics in this suspenseful tale of the mysterious death of a member of Parliament. The MP for Bootham East was something of a fish out of water - a Tory with a conscience. When he was fished out of water, it looked like a clear case of suicide or accident. But as Superintendent Sutcliffe's investigations got under way, some very murky political waters were dredged and revealed their secrets. The local Labour Party had been hijacked by the extreme left, the Tory Party had had an unattractive man with City connections foisted on it, and the Alliance candidate had something nasty in his past he would prefer to forget. By the time of the declaration poll, all the parties wished the by-election had never had to happen, and that the dirt had remained brushed away under the carpet. In this witty and penetrating look at British politics, Robert Barnard shows a 'sharp and knowing eye', as well as what Newsweek called his 'wit . . . energy and style.