Frederick Britten Austin (1885 - 1941) was a popular British fiction writer, whose crime and mystery stories were very much influenced by his experiences as a soldier. He had enlisted in the London Rifle Brigade on 4 August, 1914, the day war was declared on Germany. By war's end he had reached the rank of captain.
In Diamond Cut Diamond, Britten Austin tells the tale of the agent Sir Humphrey Maule who appears unexpectedly in the office of Quentin Quayne (or QQ as he is better known in the secret service) one morning, claiming to have shot his best friend and fellow agent. He is on his way to the police to give himself up, but before he does so, he wants to know why he committed the murder.
