The Indian Scarf

Ten heirs are summoned to a remote Scottish castle to hear a will, on the condition they stay the night, and are strangled one by one with the silk scarf of the title. It is And Then There Were None by way of Edgar Wallace, and one of the more purely enjoyable krimis for its ruthless picking-off structure.

Klaus Kinski is among the suspects, the castle setting is atmospheric, and the whodunit is played straight. The isolated-guests-murdered-in-sequence format is a direct precursor to countless later thrillers.

Tight, gloomy and satisfying. A good example of the cycle's pleasures.