This is the 1959 Version. Stanley Ellin won the Edgar Award for best novel for this book, and it's well deserved. The only word that comes to my mind to definite this is "perfection". Perfection in writing, plotting, characterization, atmosphere. "The Eighth Circle" is probably one of the best mystery novels ever written, and one of the most deserved Edgar-winners, with Charlotte Jay's "Beat Not The Bones", Chandler's "The Long Goodbye" - to name just two. Don't miss it! Like Nat King Cole would say, it's "unforgettable"...
During his investigation, like James Bond, Murray Kirk is beaten up and taken to the secluded mansion of a type of super-villain ... and then (bruised and battered) he sets out on a daring and dangerous night raid to get revenge ... and evidence. And when the super-villain comes to deal with Kirk ... well, read for yourself to see who gets the better of whom.
During his investigation, like James Bond, Murray Kirk is beaten up and taken to the secluded mansion of a type of super-villain ... and then (bruised and battered) he sets out on a daring and dangerous night raid to get revenge ... and evidence. And when the super-villain comes to deal with Kirk ... well, read for yourself to see who gets the better of whom.