The Delicate Ape — Dorothy B. Hughes

To prevent another war, a diplomat hides from enemies of peace

Twelve years after the Second World War ended, America's war efforts have been replaced by those of the Peace Department, whose chief responsibility is to oversee the police force that governs Germany. On the eve of the biennial Peace Conclave in New York, rumors are swirling that the force may be withdrawn, and the Germans allowed free reign once again. Only the secretary of peace stands in the way of this controversial plan -- that is, until he's murdered.

His deputy, Piers Hunt, is the only man in the diplomatic corps who knows of his superior's death. Fearing a similar fate, he arrives in New York incognito, racing against those who would once again plunge the world into global conflict. Piers is a man of peace, but for the sake of his beliefs, he may be forced to get blood on his hands.