Ben Reich, CEO of Monarch Industries, has been unsuccessful in persuading his rival, Craye D’Courtney, to agree to a merger. Frustrated, Reich corners old man D’Courtney alone during a party at the mansion of a mutual friend and kills him. However, D’Courtney’s daughter witnesses the crime and manages to escape with the murder weapon. Thus begins a cat and mouse game of tracking her down while the investigating detective, Lincoln Powell, is forced to refrain from using his telepathic abilities to “peep” into Reich’s mind. Powell is certain that Reich is the murderer, but needs hard evidence. Reich hires other telepaths to run interference for him all the while experiencing horrible nightmares about being hunted by a man without a face.

First published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in 1953, it’s easy to see why The Demolished Man was the first book to win the Hugo Award. Bester presents an engaging thriller in which a crime is committed in a world where telepaths occupy all levels of society. Watching Reich evade capture—and a punishment known as Demolition—with the top telepathic investigator hot on his trail makes for a captivating read.