''The Little Walls'' is a

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

Winston Graham Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary ...

. It won the very first

Gold Dagger The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year. From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From ...

, then called ''Crossed Red Herring Award'', awarded by the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...

in 1955. The authorized abridgement was published in USA in 1955 as ''Bridge to Vengeance''.

Plot introduction

The novel tells the story of Phillip Turner who refuses to believe that his brother's death was suicide. He sets out to find out how his brother Grevil, an eminent archaeologist, came to be found dead in an Amsterdam canal. The official investigation is led by Inspector J.J. Tholen.

Publication history

*1955, UK, London, Hodder and Stoughton, OCLC: 59014574, Hardback *1955, USA, Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, OCLC: 1684192, Hardback *1955, USA, New York, Mercury Press, OCLC: 190864334, Authorized abridgement as ''Bridge to Vengeance'' 1955 British novels British crime novels Hodder & Stoughton books Novels set in Amsterdam Novels by Winston Graham {{1950s-crime-novel-stub