Helen de Guerry Simpson (1897–1940)

I liked it very much—I'm always a sucker for a Great Detective like Sir John Samaurez, a popular West End actor-manager (meaning he produced his own plays as well as some touring companies'). I'm starting to conclude that in the 1920s the conventions of the Golden Age were a bit more fluid in that publishers did not enforce a particular rhythm. Here the trial is in the first third, the true murderer is identified at about 75%, and the novelistic plot is still spinning itself out up to the end. That's not what I expected!… (more)

Horatia "Horrie" Pedler is the owner of the successful publisher, Pedlar's Pack (yes, the two names are spelled differently). Marmion Poole is one of the authors who made her a success, but when he returns from years of living abroad and wants her to publish his tell-all memoirs, Horrie is in a predicament. This "elegant thriller" (Times Literary Supplement) is basically a light novel with some mystery trimmings. I enjoyed it, but it's not (unfortunately) a detective novel.

Character Sir John Samaurez, the amateur detective in two other books by Dane and Simpson, makes a couple of appearances, but I wouldn't call this one part of his series.… (more)