by Gavin Black (Pen name of Oswald Wynd)

New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, (1975).

First American edition, first printing.

"First U.S. edition" statement and first printing number code sequence 1 through 10 to the copyright page.

The eleventh, of thirteen mysteries featuring Paul Harris finds the unorthodox businessman, former soldier, and active sleuth called to the Isle of Arran, off the coast of Scotland to help with the sale of a Renoir painting--and to uncover the the machinations of a murderer.

Wynd, born in Japan to Scottish parents, grew up in Japan, was a Scottish soldier prisoner of war for three years in Japan during WWII, and lived the remainder his adulthood in Scotland.

He was most famous for his novel THE GINGER TREE, which was adapted to a BBC mini-series, as well as a TV series.

Fine in black linen over textured orange boards with silver embossed titles to the spine, black patterned end-papers; in a nearly fine dust jacket with just a touch of rubbing to the shelf-edges and flap folds; original printed $6.95 price and date code 0376 still intact to the front inner flap.