The Imperfect Crime by Bruce Graeme Early Reprint Hutchinson c.1938. A fine book with no inscriptions or signs of ownership. In original, bright VG+ dust jacket.

In the genteel environs of 1930s Surrey, the seemingly perfect murder of a tyrannical industrialist at his country pile unravels when a misplaced cufflink betrays the killer's meticulous plan. Amateur sleuth Theodore Iustin Good leading, the affable but astute financier, joins forces with the local constabulary to probe the estate's labyrinth of suspects: a cuckolded nephew, a scheming secretary with forged ledgers, and the widow's enigmatic companion harboring wartime secrets. As Good deciphers cryptic timetables and unearths a hidden safe, Graeme's 1937 novel hums with procedural finesse, rural restraint, and ingenious twists, transforming a flawless facade into a flawed frenzy of deception and detection.

The Imperfect Crime beguiles collectors as a polished rarity in Bruce Graeme's Theodore Good series, its imperfect plot a quintessential Golden Age gem. Readers savor its methodical unmaskings and Good's unassuming acumen, akin to Margery Allingham's Campion capers or Michael Innes' intellectual intrigues. Its cultural nuance captures interwar suburban sins and class conundrums, alluring whodunit enthusiasts. Collectors prize its scarcity among Graeme's works, while readers unravel the cufflink conundrums and timetable tangles, deeming it a flawed essential for devotees of inverted enigmas and Surrey-spun suspense.