ALAN J. ADMONT had married the rich old cobra, Christine, but not in a fit of blind passion. Thus he agreed quite readily when a gangster suggested Christine should be liquidated in order to pay off the $25,000 Alan owed him. Since Christine's will made Alan her sole beneficiary, an expert in murder was necessary to make the job "accidental," and here's where the Dove came in.

"He is a gentlemanly, mild-mannered old guy, and for looks you would think that a sneeze would blow him away. He likes accidents. Sometimes he likes illnesses. And once you turn him loose on a job, you never see him until it's over."

Then Christine put all of her money in an annuity, and it became Alan's main object in life to protect Christine from the murder he had engineered. In a ménage full of completely fantastic characters, Alan trembles and shrieks and curses, frantically wondering when the blow is to fall on his golden egg.

This special edition of THE DEADLY DOVE by Rufus King has been made available to the Armed Forces of the United States through an arrangement with the original publisher, Doubleday, Doran and Co., Inc., New York.

Editions for the Armed Services, Inc., a non-profit organization established by the Council on Books in War. 

The Deadly Dove is a fast-paced and suspenseful story, with witty dialogue and clever twists. The characters are well-drawn and the setting is atmospheric. Fans of golden age detective fiction will enjoy this book, which showcases King's skill as a master of the genre.