His arms were hanging down, but his face was turned upwards. For the first time Johnny saw a dead man.

Colonel Meroy is a prosperous pillar of the landed gentry. But his neighbours would be shocked to learn he'd started out as a London pickpocket, and still earns his income from a career in smoothly organized robbery. Now he's hit a perilous snag – his latest job means going up against the rival and ruthless Luvello gang for a fortune in gold bullion, and even risking the safety of his own son. When a river policeman is killed, Inspector Thompson of Scotland Yard is drawn into the case, and he always gets his man ...

He Shot to Kill was first published in 1936, and has remained out of print until this new edition. It includes an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

'I have the highest opinion of Peter Drax's murder stories ... The secret of Peter Drax's success is his ability to make the circumstances as plausible as the characters are real' Sunday Times