E. C. Bentley

''Trent's Own Case'' is E. C. Bentley's sequel to Trent's Last Case, featuring amateur sleuth Philip Trent, who investigates the murder of a wealthy philanthropist whose portrait he was painting, navigating a complex web of false leads, secondary murders, and a vanished actress before ultimately unmasking the killer amidst a series of ingenious criminal plots and witty observations on London life. The story begins with the murder of sadistic philanthropist James Randolph, whose safe is ransacked, and Trent, who was painting his portrait, becomes involved.