When an elderly man is found violently stabbed, wallet missing, in an alley way in a small town on the Isle of Man, all fingers point to a local boy.

The victim was well-known on the island and a member of a very distinguished family who are keen to see quick justice.

Anxious that the heightening anger of the Manx people will lead to an unwarranted arrest, the Manx police call in Inspector Littlejohn to investigate.

While the boy maintains his innocence, Littlejohn’s investigations lead him to the Bishop’s Arm pub. Harbouring some of the island’s most dubious characters, will Littlejohn find the clue among these shady figures before a possibly innocent boy is sent to jail?

The Tormentors was originally published in 1962.