The Whip Hand

Victor Canning

Jun 2021 · Canelo

About this ebook

A 1960s London PI’s search for a missing au pair leads to sinister evil in this classic spy series opener by the author of The Rainbird Pattern.

Meet Rex Carver, the suave and laconic private investigator.

His job is to track down a German au pair, Katerina Saxmann, who has gone missing in Brighton. But when the security services show up at his apartment within hours of him accepting the assignment, he realizes there is far more going on.

As the search leads Carver around the pleasure spots of Europe, the investigation, and his feelings for Katerina, get more complicated. But when a specter from the continent’s past rears its head, Rex discovers he might be in too deep . . .

With cut-glass dialogue and panache in spades, Rex Carver is the James Bond of private investigators, perfect for fans of John le Carré and Ian Fleming.

Praise for the writing of Victor Canning:

“Mr. Canning’s inventiveness never flags for a moment.” —The Daily Telegraph

About the author

Victor Canning was a prolific writer, his first novel published when he was just 23. His later thrillers were dark and complex, and received great critical acclaim. "The Rainbird Pattern" was awarded the CWA Silver Dagger in 1973. In 1976 it was transformed by Alfred Hitchcock into the comic film The Family Plot. He also wrote pseudonymously as Julian Forest and Alan Gould. He died in February 1986 in Cirencester.