To Wake the Dead - John Dickson Carr

Hailed by Agatha Christie as "the king of the art of misdirection," John Dickson Carr presents a thrilling murder mystery that has the redoubtable Dr. Gideon Fell tracing clues from London to Sussex to South Africa

Mystery novelist Christopher Kent accepts a friend's outlandish bet and sets out to travel from Johannesburg to London with nothing but the cash in his wallet and the clothes on his back. He arrives with twenty-four hours to spare, his wallet and his stomach both empty. While cadging a breakfast at a luxurious hotel, he is implicated in the brutal murder of a hotel guest. Fleeing the scene of the crime, Kent takes refuge with Dr. Gideon Fell, the portly genius who specializes in murders too baffling for Scotland Yard. For Kent, getting to London was the easy part. The trick will be avoiding the hangman.

To Wake the Dead is the 9th book in the Dr. Gideon Fell Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.