This was an eerie story reminiscent of a Hitchcock movie. It was about a creepy little opportunistic man who murders his long lost nephew for money. Mr. Marble, the aforementioned creep, spends the rest of his life brooding over and trying to avoid detection for his utterly evil crime. Eventually, justice is served with an ironic twist. I was really gripped by this book until about three quarters of the way through. Because it started to seem too long and drawn out, the twisted ending had less impact than it otherwise might have. ( )

Cracker of a book. Gradually builds up the tension as see someone's life and marriage collapse; even so the ending is a superb twist that is totally unexpected. My 1964 copy calls Forester 'a master novelist' - enough said. ( )