The Demolished Man

The novel was written by Alfred Bester and was published in 1953. It famously won the very first Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1953, cementing its place in the history of classic science fiction.

In the novel, premeditated murder is nearly impossible because "Espers" (telepaths) can read intentions, so Reich uses a clever psychological blocking technique. He gets an advertising jingle stuck in his head—a song called "Tenser, said the Tensor"—to block Espers from reading his thoughts while he plans the assassination.

In this future society, capital punishment has been replaced by "Demolition." Instead of simply killing the offender, the state completely erases their mind and reconstructs their psyche to be a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, though the book notes that this also terrifies people into compliance.

The prefect assigned to the case is Lincoln Powell, who is a high-level Esper (a Class 1 telepath). The novel centers around the intellectual cat-and-mouse game between Powell, who knows Reich is guilty, and Reich, who has perfectly covered his physical tracks.