First published in 1975, A Remarkable Case of Burglary tells the tale of Val Leary, handsome, charming and broke. On the morning of April Fools’ Day, while walking through one of London’s wealthiest districts, he notices a young maidservant scrubbing the steps of 53 Northbourne Park Villas. In that instant he conceives the idea for a remarkable case of burglary. The set-up seems perfect, but chance intervenes in a succession of coincidences that continue to fox the team of would-be thieves. Set in the Upstairs, Downstairs world of Victorian England, this is an ingenious and gripping tale by the acknowledged master of the English crime novel.