A Voice Like Velvet

A Voice Like Velvet
Martin Edwards

Donald Henderson

A sensational wartime crime novel about a BBC announcer who abuses his position to commit crimes against the rich and famous…By day Ernest Bisham is a velvet-voiced announcer for the BBC; the whole country recognises the sound of his meticulous pronouncements. By night, however, Mr Bisham is a cat-burglar, careless about his loot, but revelling in the danger and excitement of his running contest with Scotland Yard. But as he gets away with more and more daring escapades, there will come a time when he goes too far . . .When Donald Henderson’s Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper caused something of a sensation, his publishers were keen to capitalise on their author’s popularity, quickly reissuing The Announcer (originally published under his pen-name ‘D. H. Landels’) with the more alluring title A Voice Like Velvet. Despite a small edition of just 3,000 copies, it was his best reviewed work, as suspenseful and offbeat as his earlier success.This Detective Club classic includes an introduction by The Golden Age of Murder’s Martin Edwards, who explores Henderson’s own BBC career and the long established tradition of books about gentlemen crooks. The book also includes a rare Henderson short story, the chilling ‘The Alarm Bell’.

‘THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB is a clearing house for the best detective and mystery stories chosen for you by a select committee of experts. Only the most ingenious crime stories will be published under the THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB imprint. A special distinguishing stamp appears on the wrapper and title page of every THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB book—the Man with the Gun. Always look for the Man with the Gun when buying a Crime book.’

Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., 1929

Now the Man with the Gun is back in this series of COLLINS CRIME CLUB reprints, and with him the chance to experience the classic books that influenced the Golden Age of crime fiction.

Copyright (#u378c9acd-0f75-5443-94be-6647955d28b0)

COLLINS CRIME CLUB

an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

This Detective Story Club edition 2018

First published in Great Britain as The Announcer by Hurst and Blackett 1944

‘The Alarm Bell’ first published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine by Mercury Publications, Inc. 1945

Introduction © Martin Edwards 2018

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008265342

Ebook Edition © September 2018 ISBN: 9780008265359

Version: 2018-04-11

Dedication (#u378c9acd-0f75-5443-94be-6647955d28b0)

FOR

R. E. SIMONS

(In Rome)

AFFECTIONATELY

Although the descriptions of Broadcasting House are authentic and come from first-hand experience, all the characters in this book are entirely fictitious. No portrayal of any BBC announcer, or any other person, is in any way intended.

Table of Contents

Cover (#uf580aaa3-836c-50f7-8b4c-91da167dc26a)

Title Page (#u4864003d-a98c-5369-9c6a-beed5d877f32)

Copyright (#ue5ba73f1-baee-5065-a3d7-ca7e04ff51d8)

Dedication (#ud5179ea4-1767-53bb-8156-c7de18e96144)

Epigraph (#u35cb6bc1-3972-5819-9407-0c322e1bd690)

Introduction (#u99385ab7-7760-5a01-a004-d219377315a7)

Chapter I (#ub1d9a98b-9b5e-5c49-9607-4280b636d1f9)

Chapter II (#u08df3a84-c192-53bd-ac3d-f61d3781020e)

Chapter III (#ub2a4a5d1-264a-57fb-9a40-84b3e6a19a0d)

Chapter IV (#u6c82f009-37f4-572d-a3e5-e3be49845fba)

Chapter V (#uc4a05d28-08b6-5ad6-8960-0e89ea9c1dfe)

Chapter VI (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter VII (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter VIII (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter IX (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter X (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XI (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XII (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XIII (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter XIV (#litres_trial_promo)