She Shall Have Murder

In post-WWII London, Jane Hamish is a law clerk in the office of Daniel Playfair & Son. Her fiance, Dagobert Brown, is a charming layabout whose latest enthusiasm is having Jane write a murder mystery using his plotting and the people in her office as characters. As inspiration for her fictional murder victim, Jane chooses Mrs. Robjohn, a paranoid old lady who drives everyone in the office crazy with her tales of being watched and pursued by shadowy, sinister people. Then Mrs. Robjohn actually dies, poisoned with gas that seeps into her lodging-house room. Although the verdict is Accidental Death, Dagobert decides it must be a real murder, and leaps enthusiastically into the role of amateur dectective.

There is some great detail about show more life in post-war London in the late 1940s: shillings for the gas meter, food still being rationed, using a public callbox in the street instead of having a private phone in your home. The tone of the book is breezy and lighthearted. Dagobert is outrageous and irresistable, and Jane is smart, good-humoured and likable.

She Shall Have Murder is book 1 of a 12-book series about Dagobert & Jane. It's the first book by Delano Ames that I've read, and I hope to track down some more books by this overlooked vintage mystery author. show less

I was pleasantly surprised by this 1940s British cozy -- the author maintained the 'cozy' style (nonprofessional detective) without becoming too caught up in romance (a common flaw in many cozies). I felt the balance between Jane & Dagobert's personal life and the mystery was just right. Ames also managed to have several plausible motives within a fairly restricted circle of suspects.

Jane Hamish works in a lawyers office. Her fiance, Dagobert Brown, is a bit of a layabout who delights almost everyone he meets. When a paranoid client from Janes office is found dead, it is assumed that she accidentally left the gas on. Jane thinks differently, and Dagobert jumps on the amateur sleuth bandwagon. He seems to be very good at it.
This is a delightful little book, the beginning of a series that I expect to continue. Copyrighted in 1949, much of the story is dated, but it is told in such a charming manner, and Dagobert has won me over.

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