Beggar's Choice — Patricia Wentworth

Car Fairfax had hit rock bottom. First, he was rejected for a job because his shoes were worn out. Next, he ran into Isobel, whom he had not seen for three lovelorn years. Finally, a stranger handed him a printed flyer that read: "Do you want to make £500? If you do and are willing to earn it, write to..."

But Car's new job was odd. His sole duty, it seemed, was to dine in chic restaurants. While his mysterious boss remained undercover, his glamorous cousin Anna suddenly offered Car £500 to get her out of a jam. And then his friend Fay said she was in a jam and desperately needed five hundred! Even as he pondered the curious affair, Car slowly slid into a net of dangerous deceit and criminal skulduggery that threatened both himself and his future with Isobel...