In The Man in the Brown Suit, Agatha Christie's 1924 novel, Anne Beddingfeld, an orphan and former housekeeper, leaves her home in search of adventure. She witnesses a strange-smelling man fall off an Underground platform and be electrocuted on the rails. The police rule the death accidental. Anne follows a suspected murderer and finds a clue on a scrap of paper. She sets sail for South Africa.

Anne realizes that "The Man in the Brown Suit" is not the murderer, but is hunting for the gang's leader, the "Colonel".