In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in 70 years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face & driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival & bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.
Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man is a science-fiction novel that won the first Hugo Award in 1953. It was serialized in three parts, beginning with the January 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, followed by book publication in 1953.