Indeed, he read very little except detective stories, which he devoured at a rate of one a day. Ronald Knox, The Motive
A deadly fire swept through Starvel House, resulting in the death of its owner, the elderly Simon Averill, as well as his two servants. The inquest called it a terrible accident. But then a single twenty-pound note turns up, only it should have been burnt, along with the rest of the over thirty-thousand pounds Averill …
Continue reading Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy by Freeman Wills Crofts (1927)
Foul weather curtailed any wanderings during our staycation (hot, sticky, humid, rainy, wet...bleh!). Other than the husband tricking the dog and I out of our comfy chairs with a promise of Korean BBQ for lunch, and then making us go for a walk up on the Peaks first, we went nowhere. But obviously, I did …
When Inspector French meets with Detective Sergeant M'Clung to be briefed on the investigation into the disappearance of Sir John Magill, he has no idea just how complicated the case will become. Seven years previous, Sir John quit Belfast for a retirement in London, leaving his very profitable linen business to his son Malcolm. A …
Continue reading Sir John Magill’s Last Journey by Freeman Wills Crofts (1930)
The fishing wasn’t good off Burry Port. It’s so bad that all a man and his son caught was a waterlogged crate which they decide to float onto the beach. Inside is a decomposing body of a man. He has obviously been murdered, the face battered and any means of identification removed. It will take …
Continue reading Inspector French and the Sea Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts (1928)
On a cold night in the middle of November at the offices of diamond merchants Duke and Peabody, the body of head clerk Mr. Charles Gething is discovered, dead on the floor in front of the open safe. Missing are £33,000 worth of diamonds plus about £1,000 in bank notes. Inspector Joseph French expects the case …
Continue reading Inspector French’s Greatest Case by Freeman Wills Crofts (1924)
When the battered body of Sir William Ponson is found in the Cranshaw River it is assumed to be an accident. Apparently trying to cross in a small boat, he lost control of his oars and drifted too close to the Cranshaw Falls, was carried over and dashed on the rocks below. But later evidence …
Continue reading The Ponson Case by Freeman Wills Crofts (1921)