Mission of fear

"Mission of fear" by George Harmon Coxe is a mystery novel written in the mid-20th century. It centers on John Hayden, whose marriage is threatened when a slick stranger claims Hayden’s wife’s supposedly dead ex-husband may be alive, a claim that quickly spirals into blackmail and murder. With State Police scrutiny closing in, Hayden is driven to uncover the truth before suspicion and scandal destroy his life.

The opening of the novel follows Hayden through an ordinary after-work stop that turns ominous when he learns a man named Sam Adler has been asking about him and is staying at the local motel. At home, his wife Marion reveals Adler’s shocking claim: her first husband, Ted Corbin—believed dead in a plane crash—appears alive, backed by a recent snapshot and a photographed fingerprint, and Adler wants $20,000 to keep quiet. After consulting their lawyer, Roger Denham, Hayden goes to the motel to confront Adler but finds him stabbed to death; in a panic to shield his marriage, he removes the photo and fingerprint images from Adler’s wallet and slips away unseen. Soon Lieutenant Garvey and Detective Ball arrive to question the Haydens, armed with witnesses who confirm Adler visited their house that afternoon; Marion, steadied but fearful, presents Adler as a book salesman as the interrogation intensifies.