What Beckoning Ghost is a sharp, short classic mystery set in London, England, in 1947. What a pity for the killer that one of the guests at the opening dinner party is a very intelligent lawyer with a talent for getting information out of others.

I suspected the reason for the ghost's 1940 appearance, but not the 1947 one. Mr. Browne plays fair with the reader up to the suspenseful chase scene in a dangerous area. Even then, the point of view changes from the satanic-looking lawyer, Harvey Turke, to novelist Gordon Cartwright, so we learn as he learns. (By that time, Turke has already figured out howdunnit and narrowed whodunnit to two suspects.)

If you like history, there's the bonus of learning some of London's before, during, and after World War II. It was after midnight and I was so tired when I reached the last of the book's five sections, but I read through to the end. (My body, particularly my eyes, did not thank me, but my mind overruled them.) ( )