Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts

The steamer Chichester was making her daily run between Newhaven and Dieppe. When she was half way to her destination, her captain spotted a small pleasure yacht sitting motionless in the water. The captain was curious and ordered the steamer to pull closer. When it did so, it was possible to see a man laying face down on the deck, and what looked like red blood smears on the deck near him. The captain ordered the third mate, Mr. Macintosh, to take a boat and a couple of men over to take a look at the yacht. When they arrived, they established that the man on deck was dead. As they investigated further, they found another body in the cabin. There was nobody else on board, and they found no weapon.

The captain told Mr. Macintosh to take the yacht to the harbor in Newhaven. On the way, they encountered a motor launch which was heading directly for the yacht. Macintosh stopped and took aboard the man on the launch. This would be a Mr. Nolan and he knew the two dead men on the yacht. They were Mr. Moxton, the chairman, and Mr. Deeping, the vice-chairman, of  Moxton's General Securities, and they were supposed to be heading to France to a meeting a perspective client. Mr. Nolan was one of supervising executives, and he was also to attend this meeting. Macintosh told Nolan that he had better come along to Newhaven. When they got there, they talked to the local police who were quite relieved then it was decided that this case was too complicated for them and that they should call in Scotland Yard.

Scotland Yard decided that Inspector French was now to handle a case which was becoming much more complicated because rumors in London had it that Moxton Securities was bankrupt. These rumors proved to be true, and Inspector French now had a case which included the murder of two men, the possible theft of one million pounds from Moxton Securities and the disappearance of another of the company's executives. Inspector French is indeed the man to handle this. He is methodical, precise, honorable, and very, very clever. Some readers may find him a bit too methodical, but I like the way he goes about solving crimes. The reader can follow Inspector French's thoughts, and knows how he goes about making decisions about to do next. Usually his decisions are good, but there are times when he makes mistakes.

This book was published in 1931, and has just been reissued as part of the British Library Crime Classic series.