London, 1879. Crowds have gathered at Islington's chilly Agricultural Hall to place their bets on who will become the next world champion in a six-day, 500-mile speedwalking race, the "wobble." When one of the highly favored contenders dies under suspicious circumstances, Sergeant Cribb also has a race on his hands--to pursue a ruthless murderer.

Fifty years ago, Wobble to Death launched the writing career of one of the world's greatest crime fiction writers. Since its initial publication, Peter Lovesey has written forty novels and six short story collections, and has become one of three living writers to receive both the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and the Crime Writers Association Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement. There is no better place to dive into Lovesey's legendary oeuvre than with this sparkling debut.