Piper, H. Beam, 1904-1964 / 2008-07-10 00:00:00
EBOOK MURDER IN THE GUNROOM ***
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MURDER IN THE GUNROOM
By H. BEAM PIPER
NEW YORK
_Alfred A. Knopf_ 1953
FIRST EDITION
TO _Colonel Henry W. Shoemaker_ an old and valued friend, who was
promised this dedication, with an entirely different novel in mind,
twenty-two years ago.
PREFACE
_The Lane Fleming collection of early pistols and revolvers was one of
the best in the country. When Fleming was found dead on the floor of
his locked gunroom, a Confederate-made Colt-type percussion .36 revolver
in his hand, the coroner's verdict was "death by accident." But Gladys
Fleming had her doubts. Enough at any rate to engage Colonel Jefferson
Davis Rand--better known just as Jeff--private detective and a
pistol-collector himself, to catalogue, appraise, and negotiate the
sale of her late husband's collection.
There were a number of people who had wanted the collection. The
question was: had anyone wanted it badly enough to kill Fleming? And if
so, how had he done it? Here is a mystery, told against the fascinating
background of old guns and gun-collecting, which is rapid-fire without
being hysterical, exciting without losing its contact with reason, and
which introduces a personable and intelligent new private detective.
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