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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. Protruding from the dead woman's breast was the gold and jewelled dagger she had shown them half an hour before. And, looking horribly incongruous among the laces of her fichu, a deep stain was spreading.Elderly cantankerous widow Lady Anne Daventry summons a private detective, Bruce Cardyn, to her London home. He is tasked to find out one thing: just who is trying to kill her? Any number of relations have a financial interest in her death. Then there is show more Lady Anne's recently dismissed private secretary, her lady's maid and the butler...Despite Cardyn's efforts, Lady Anne is murdered and Inspector Furnival, in his second golden age mystery, is on the case, with Cardyn playing Watson. Originally published in 1926, this new edition is the first printed in over eighty years. It features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."Miss Haynes' new book shows all the merits of its predecessors. Careful plot, a villain concealed, natural setting, observation of character—for all these it scores points." Morning Post. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This was a fun Golden Age mystery using the locked room theme, although the room wasn't actually locked. There were two crimes: the theft of Lady Anne's pearls and her murder soon after the pearls were discovered missing. Like Agatha Christie, Haynes threw in a sprinkle of romance. As I read I was guessing who the culprit was and I believe I picked each of the characters but the denouement still came as a surprise. My only criticism is that Inspector Furnival did not reveal how he discovered some of the clues, just saying "then I discovered… " - a Golden Age no-no. Still, it was fun and I look forward to more of Haynes.
This whole series of books are a must for any enthusiast. Annie Haynes has been 'lost' for far too long, in my opinion
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The House in Charlton Crescent
- Original title
- The House In Charlton Crescent
- Original publication date
- 1926
- People/Characters
- Inspector Furnival
- First words
- Lady Anne Daventry was not a pleasant old lady.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"And the ass would have had to shout pretty loud to stop the rector of North Coton."
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- Members
- 42
- Popularity
- 703,281
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
