Dead to the World — Francis Durbridge

Photographer Philip Holt established his reputation as an amateur detective when he proved his brother Rex had been murdered and solved the case. This time his skills are in demand after he meets wealthy American Robert Scranton on the plane returning to England from the United States. When Scranton learns that his son Vance, a student at a new university in the South of England, has been shot dead, he asks Holt to investigate the killing. Things snowball, but in strange directions. Forgery, blackmail, smuggling, and more murder are among the pitfalls that Holt comes up against in this gripping adventure. Exciting and suspenseful, this tightly-plotted story is packed with twists and turns right up to the surprising, shocking denouement.