ISLE OF PERIL.

New York, NY, USA.: Mystery House., 1957. Book. Illus. by Ric Binkley Illustrated Cover.. Very Good. Cloth. First Edition, First State Printing.. 224 pages. >>> "Covers had a problem. He was land poor and money rich. That is, he had more land on Bird Island than he knew what to do with, and no money to do it with. He had bought Bird Island, off the coast of Monterey, for taxes, and the old Bird Island Hotel made him enough money to keep him alive - barely. So when Al Carper suggested that he sell the land he did not deed and renovate the hotel into a first-rate resort, he decided to do it, even though Al's business acumen was the result of driving the mail launch back and forth between Monterey and Bird Island. He needed ninety thousand dollars to do the jod right, so he divided ninety acres into five sections and priced them all to bring him 91,000. The fact that he sold all five areas in one day did not puzzle him. After all, Coves had chosen his buyers with discrimination. Only high-class people would do - and that's what he got - he thought. There was Milo Green, a writer; Mortimer Archer, retired businerrman, interested in photograpghy; Ike O'Rourke, Alaskan fisherman and gold prospector, cousin of Al Carper; Miss Pickett, head of Miss Pickett's Finishing Academy for Select Yong Ladies, whose academy was already on Bird Island, and remained thereby Miss Pickett's purchase of the land; and a retired San Francisco lawyer with a penchant for secretaries. Coves was happy with his buyers and even more so with the new Bird Island Hotel - and establishment that could have been removed complete to the French Riviera. Happy, that is, until he found out that none of the purchasers were what they said they wer - exactly. And that one - or moe - of them was bent on trouble. Trouble in the shape of shots in the night, assault with intent to kill - and all for money. Money that might have been Coves' had he not sold out - for money." >>> Very RARE early Jack Vance Mystery title under a Pseudonym; >>> Printed by Colonial Press Inc of Clinton, Massachusetts, for Mystery House in New York; >>> Yellow Cloth boards; Price is NOT CLIPPED, with original price of 2.75 still on inner corner of Dust Jacket inside. There are Light gum residue ghost stains to the top and bottom of the both boards, caused from the dust jacket protector. The old dust jacket protector is now removed & has kept the Dust Jacket in suprisingly excellent condition. >>> Small 3/8" x 1-1/2" piece of magic tape on inside of Dust Jacket. Small 3/8" x 1-1/4" Library ID sticker on spine to DJ, otherwise NO OTHER Library markings. Front Enpage is Missing. Very attractive example of this RARE title. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.