The Man in the Queue (1929) by Josephine Tey is a classic Golden Age detective novel featuring Inspector Alan Grant.
The story begins when a man waiting in a long line outside a London theater is mysteriously stabbed to death. With no witnesses and nothing known about the victim-not even his real identity-Grant must unravel a tangle of misleading clues, false identities, and shifting testimonies.
As he pursues a prime suspect across Scotland, Grant is forced to question his assumptions about guilt and innocence. The novel blends psychological insight with traditional detective work, ultimately revealing a surprising and morally complex solution to the crime.