The Sussex Downs Murder

The Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude is a 2015 Poison Pen publication. (Originally published in 1936)

This Golden Age mystery was saved from obscurity with the help of the British Crime Library and is now available via Poisoned Pen Press in digital format.

Any avid, contemporary, mystery reader will have absolutely no trouble at all figuring out, well in advance, 'whodunit', and maybe a whole lot of the ‘how’ part too.

While that would ordinarily bug me to no end, it wouldn't be fair to judge this novel by our wizened and jaded modern day standards.

I think it is obvious the author put some serious thought into the plot, with some truly novel details, but, still, I’m not even sure the more innocent 1936 audiences would have been show more entirely baffled by this plot.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy seeing how Meredith pieced all the bits and pieces of the puzzle together to finally solve the crime he investigated for months.

This is my first ‘Meredith’ mystery, and while it certainly didn’t blow me away, I did enjoy reading an old Golden Age mystery by an author I was not familiar with.

Meredith has some nice dialogue and observations in the story- and takes a few jabs at the detectives featured in popular novels of the day-

“But when it comes to a proper detective yarn give me something that’s possible, plausible, and not crammed with a lot of nice little coincidences and ‘flashes of intuition’. Things don’t work that way in real life. We don’t work that way. At least, sir, that’s how it seems to me anyway.”

Oh snap! I do detect a bit of snark there!

Of course, this is a quick, gentle, clean mystery, I can’t think of anything I found offensive, though the story is very much a product of its time.

I found the book mildly entertaining, with most of the novelty coming from its rescue from obscurity. I’m so happy to see these older detective and mystery novels reaching new audiences, though, and even if some of the material isn’t nearly as challenging to readers as it was when first published, they are still fun to read!!

I will definitely look for more “Meredith” mysteries in the future! show less

Enjoyed this one a great deal: the setting is interesting, the red herrings are plentiful, and there's a fair bit of good humor.

John Bude’s William Meredith returns in The Sussex Downs Murders. Having been promoted to superintendent on the final page of the debut novel, The Lake District Murder, Meredith tackles a tougher murder than the last.

Brothers John and William Rother mark the third generation at the Sussex farm known as the Chalklands. John Rother, the elder and more grating of the pair, heads off for a short vacation, leaving his younger brother William and William’s young bride behind; less than 16 hours later, John’s cap and abandoned car, both bashed and blood strewn, are discovered amongst some gorse bushes. The police presume foul play, but why attack John? And why did John drive 30 miles (discovered by the amount of gasoline used) to end up show more four-and-a-half miles from the Chalklands — albeit in the opposite direction of his destination? And, most importantly, where’s the body?

As much as I enjoyed the quaint The Lake District Murder, in some ways, I liked the sequel more. Author John Bude hooks the reader from the first chapter with this tale of two ill-suited brothers. Did I suspect the eventual denouement early on? Sure, I did — almost immediate. I won’t lie: that did detract from my enjoyment of the novel and cost it one star; after all, if I suspected what was going on in Chapter 1, why did it take Superintendent Meredith until well into Chapter 17 to figure it out? Still, as with the TV show Colombo, how Superintendent solves the crime is as important as the crime itself. Unlike so many detective novel protagonists, Meredith heads down plenty of dead-ends — just as must be the case in real life; still, he tenacious and hard-working. Meredith’s humanly flawed, too, right down to his grumpy disposition when things are going badly and his yearning for his wife’s good cooking. Therefore, the book — despite Meredith’s annoying lack of imagination — still merits four stars.

And John Bude gives one of the best recipes for a good mystery, out of the mouth of Superintendent Meredith:

As for the crime itself, choose something neat but not gaudy. The gaudy type of murder is more easily found out. The neat, premeditated crime is by far the most difficult to solve….

But when it comes to a proper detective yarn give me something that’s possible, plausible, and not crammed with a lot of nice little coincidences and ‘flashes of intuition’. Things don’t work that way in real life. We don’t work that way. At least, sir, that’s how it seems to me anyway.

I couldn’t improve on Bude’s formula.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I received this ebook free from NetGalley, Poison Pen Press, and British Library Publishing in return for an honest review. show less

On the picturesque Sussex Downs, Inspector William Meredith is called in to investigate the disappearance of John Rother, whose car has been found abandoned on a lonely roadway. A bloodstained hat left behind in the car and smashed instruments on the dashboard lead the police to suspect foul play. Then bones are discovered that confirm these suspicions. But who killed John Rother in such a gruesome manner, and why?

This is a very deliberately paced book. I must admit that I zoned out on several occasions as Inspector Meredith worked diligently through each of the clues and leads he was given. I like Meredith as a character (especially when we get glimpses of his wife and teenage son, who tries to get involved in the investigation), but show more this particular case seemed to move very slowly. That being said, however, the ending was pretty good. It is a twist that I probably should have deduced, but it was a good twist nonetheless. show less

Spiffy, fun and witty little British mystery about missing John Rother. Lots of red herrings and great investigative work by Superintendent Meredith.

I especially enjoyed the old-fashioned tone and humor but question the end from a feminist viewpoint.

This is the sort of mystery I like: a good puzzle, questions that kept me intrigued, characters (especially the Superintendent Meredith) that I could understand, and a setting that was enjoyable. the map at the front was a bonus.

Mysteries are my favorite genre and I especially love those set in the Golden Age. The Sussex Downs Murder is a great example. The book was easy to read - although a little slow in places. The clues were laid out well and there were some good plot twists that kept things interesting. I enjoyed Superintendent Meredith. I will certainly try to read more by John Bude.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.