Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866 - 1946) was a popular and successful English writer of genre fiction, especially thrillers.
"The Table under the Tree" is the story of a mysterious murder which takes place one evening on a crowded restaurant terrace in France. The moon disappears behind a cloud and in the momentary darkness a cry rings out. When the lights are lit, one guest is slumped over his table with a knife between his shoulder blades. But who is the mysterious stranger? Where does he come from? And why would anyone want to murder him?