The Hardway Diamonds Mystery

1930. Miles Burton was the pseudonym of Cecil John Charles Street, who also wrote under the name, John Rhode. The book begins: Although the fog was so thick that from the pavement one could scarcely see the lights of the vehicles in the roadway, Mr. Thomas Herridge, known to his intimates as Pussy, hurried confidently on his way, avoiding collisions with a peculiar lithe dexterity. He crossed Oxford Street, and was at once swallowed up in the deep yellow murk which filled the gaps between the houses like the depths of some turbid sea. Here, foot passengers were much less frequent, but, curiously enough, instead of quickening his pace, Mr. Herridge slackened it.