THE DEMOLISHED MAN By Alfred Bester

Published : 1953
Pages : 250
Overall Mark : 9/10

Ben Reich is the owner of the second most powerful conglomerate in the entire solar system, but that's not enough for him. When he thinks he's been turned down by his business rival Craye D'Courtney when he asks for their two companies to merge, he decides to murder his rival, but because of the presence of peepers, mind readers who can invade the head of anyone, Reich is forced to commit the crime in such a way that no-one can ever find out about it.

There's something sneakingly clever about this novel, with the introduction of a code and the answers to all our questions almost from the get go. The character of Ben Reich is one of the saddest and most self defeating characters I think I've ever seen outside of a Shakespeare play, and the final twist almost trumps the main twist of the entire novel.