Malice Aforethought

Malice Aforethought is a groundbreaking psychological crime novel that turns the traditional detective story on its head. From the opening pages, the reader is made complicit in the thoughts and plans of Dr. Edmund Bickleigh, a seemingly respectable country doctor trapped in a loveless marriage and driven by a chillingly rational desire for freedom.

Rather than focusing on the question of “who committed the crime,” the novel explores the far more unsettling question of whether a carefully planned murder can succeed. As events unfold, tension arises not from surprise, but from the slow tightening of circumstance, conscience, and fate.

Widely regarded as one of the first and finest examples of the inverted detective story, Malice Aforethought is a masterclass in psychological suspense and moral ambiguity, influencing generations of crime writers who followed.