Ten Trails to Tyburn (Theodore Terhune Bibliomysteries)

'But Pierre could never know that in death Fame was his, for his was the second corpse.'\nWhen a well-known local vagrant nicknamed "Peter the Hermit" dies of seemingly natural causes, the police uncover an old Bulgarian newspaper and a beautiful bejewelled comb worth substantial money in his ramshackle hut in the Kent woods. Not long afterwards, bookseller Theodore Terhune begins receiving bizarre anonymous short stories, each subtitled 'Ten Trails to Tyburn'. Fictional and old-fashioned narratives set in France, the tales at first seem nonsensical, but Terhune discerns a pattern that suggests old Peter had led a far more interesting life than anyone guessed, and that his death might not be so natural after all.\nA 1944 vintage crime novel back in print; the fifth book in the Theodore Terhune bibliomystery series.