The Cannibal Who Overate

First published in 1962, THE CANNIBAL WHO OVERATE marks the debut appearance of Pierre Chambrun, premier hotel manager and amateur sleuth extraordinaire as he attempts to identify the mastermind behind a plot to kill one of the Beaumont's richest rooftop residents.

As manager of New York City's finest luxury hotel The Beaumont, Pierre Chambrun is well acquainted with unreasonable requests from its patrons. When one of the rich rooftop suite owners demands the impossible for his annual birthday bash, Chambrun is unflustered; of course he can have exotic foods and flora flown in from all corners of the globe! No problem procuring the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera to sing "Happy Birthday!" No matter that birthday boy is the obnoxious and well-hated Aubrey Moon--a man who loves nothing better than destroying the lives of those who annoy him. Pierre is more than equal to the task.

But when a high-society call girl commits suicide in one of the Beaumont's suites, Pierre learns she'd been under pressure to murder Moon. He also discovers that there is a "Moon Club" made up of people with good reasons to wish the man dead. When an anonymous big spender offers $10,000 to any club member able to exterminate the menace, Chambrun works with his chief of security and the NYPD to catch the mastermind before the plot--and Moon--are executed.