Fear to Tread

Fear to Tread is a mystery–crime thriller by the British mystery writer Michael Gilbert, first published in 1953 by Hodder and Stoughton in England and by Harper & Brothers in the United States. Set mostly in London, it was his seventh novel in six years and built upon the favorable reputation he had achieved earlier with the well-received Smallbone Deceased and Death Has Deep Roots. Gilbert, who was appointed CBE in 1980, was a founder-member of the British Crime Writers' Association. The Mystery Writers of America named him a Grand Master in 1988 and in 1990 he was presented Bouchercon's Lifetime Achievement Award.It is one of numerous stories and novels by Gilbert presenting a gritty, realistic depiction of organized gangs, frequently directed by a deeply concealed mastermind who is not unearthed until the final pages.

Its main character is Wilfred Wetherall, a middle-aged, mild-mannered headmaster of "an understaffed, overpopulated secondary school for boys in the south-east of London." To further emphasize the apparently unheroic nature of the protagonist, throughout the book the third-person, omniscient narrator refers to him as "Mr. Wetherall". Chief Superintendent Hazlerigg plays an important role in the book but does not appear until page 154 of the 223-page British edition.

The book's plot is the gradual discovery by Mr. Wetherall that even a number of years after the end of World War II there is a flourishing black market in London for rationed food and other items, most of them stolen by one gang or another and then "redistributed" for their profit to restaurateurs and catering services. The gangs responsible for these activities are directed by a well-concealed master criminal and all of them are totally ruthless when it comes to protecting their identities. Mr. Wetherall becomes more and more aware of the black marketing from dealing with both some of his youthful students and with his staff and their relatives. As he gets caught up in their developments, threats and warnings are increasingly directed at him. A deeply stubborn streak that refuses to let him be unfairly pushed around, as well as his innate sense of fair play, keep him getting further and further involved. At first he seeks allies from a powerful newspaper editor and then, at last, from Superintendent Hazlerigg.

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