Inspector French and the Box Office Murders by Freeman Wills Crofts

A young woman named Thurza Darke came to Scotland Yard to tell Inspector French about some very suspicious events in her life. She worked at a box office of a cinema in London and really didn't earn a lot. A new friend had told her about a way she could earn some extra money. It was a small gambling scheme in which Thurza would bet a small amount and her friend told her that she was sure to win. At first Thurza did win and then she started losing money until she was in debt to the gambler. Then she borrowed money to pay off the debt and got deeper and deeper into debt. Then she was told there was a way, that she could earn money to pay off her debts. This last method made her really suspicious, and that was went she decided to talk to someone at Scotland yard.

Inspector French was interested in her story, and decided to investigate. After a few days, he wanted to talk to her again, but found that she hadn't shown up for work and was not at her lodging. Then the body of a young woman was found in the ocean. The local police considered it a suicide, but French looked at the body and found it was Thurza. French believed she had been murdered. He believed that the people she was in debt to had found out that she had gone to Scotland Yard, and decided to kill her before she could tall more.

Inspector French began a very methodical investigation and found other deaths of young women who had worked in cinema box offices. He had a very difficult time figuring out just what kind of crime was being committed. I will admit that he used some unethical methods (no search warrant, breaking and entering) to investigate the crimes, and even enlisted the young son of a police officer in his pursuit of evidence. If you happen to have a map of London, you will be able to follow along.

This is a very detailed investigation of a rather complex criminal activity. Freeman Wills Crofts was a master of the police procedural, and the reader is taken along every step of the investigation. This book was published in 1929. It has an alternate title The Purple Sickle Murders.