C. S. Forester, “Plain Murder”

The chilling portrait of a murderer in the making by the creator of Horatio Hornblower

Morris, Reddy, and Oldroyd are three ordinary clerks in a London advertising agency. They have ordinary lives, ordinary ambitions, and an ordinary secret: they have been accepting small bribes. It is a petty corruption, common enough in the City, but when their department head catches them red-handed, their comfortable world threatens to collapse. Confronted with dismissal and disgrace, Morris proposes a desperate, terrifying solution: murder.

What begins as a single act of self-preservation quickly spirals into a nightmare of paranoia and further violence. As the psychological pressure mounts, the trio’s alliance fractures, and Morris—the cold, calculating mastermind—realises that the only way to stay safe is to silence the witnesses. Even if they are his own friends.

Published in 1930, Plain Murder is a taut, psychological thriller that flips the detective genre on its head. C.S. Forester delivers a masterful study of the criminal mind, showing how easily the desire for respectability can lead to the most heinous of crimes. Dark, cynical, and relentlessly gripping, this is a noir classic that exposes the savage instincts hiding beneath the bowler hats of the British middle class.

C.S. Forester (1899-1966) was a prolific British novelist, best known for his 12-book series featuring naval officer Horatio Hornblower. Before achieving fame with historical sea adventures, Forester wrote several acclaimed crime novels, including Payment Deferred and The African Queen, which demonstrate his exceptional skill at building suspense and dissecting human frailty.

Crimina Series

A paperback and e-book series published by Intra.

Global readability, Italian charm.

• Date of publication: January 23, 2026
• Language: English
• Paperback: 211 pages
• ISBN-13: 979-1259918277
• Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Dimensions: 5 x 0.53 x 8 inches
• Price: $ 12.95 (paperback)

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