A puzzling murder has a blind detective investigating the New York City subway in this Golden Age mystery series opener.
Following the loss of his sight in World War I, exintelligence officer Capt. Duncan Maclain honed his other senses and became one of the most successful and well-known private investigators in the Big Apple. Kind and sympathetic, he's eager to help anyone who visits his office.
But the detective is too late to help him. Paul's car explodes, killing the assistant DA. The only clues are two caged white mice left in the back of the carand Paul's dying words: "Sea Beach Subwaythe last express!" Now, with his seeing-eye dog, Maclain finds himself in Manhattan's seedy underbellyand its literal undergroundon the hunt for a killer willing to do anything to throw the investigation off the rails . . .
Baynard Kendrick was the first American to enlist in the Canadian Army during World War I. While in London, he met a blind English soldier whose observational skills inspired the character of Capt. Duncan Maclain. Kendrick was also a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America and winner of the organization's Grand Master Award.