Weekend at Thrackley

Jim Henderson is unsuccessfully job-hunting and scraping by when he gets an invitation to spend a Weekend at Thrackley. Edwin Carson, his host, is a wealthy man famed for his jewel collection, some of questionable provenance if rumors are true. Carson claims to have known Henderson’s father and even Henderson himself as a boy. Since his good friend Fitch is also invited and a free meal is a free meal, he readily accepts.

When they arrive they see an old country manor completely covered in ivy surrounded by a dark, encroaching forest. It seems as though it will be one of those dank, moldy, and dreary places. The instant they step inside, though, they discover a beautifully decorated home rich in luxury and good taste. Their meal is show more outstanding and their guests are an interesting mix. There’s a wealthy society grande dame famed for her charitable events and tireless organizing. Add in a brother and sister duo of artistic inclination, a beautiful and famed actress, and Carson’s daughter Mary and you have everybody except the four servants. Henderson wonders why he is really there, though, since everyone else is wealthy and also known for having some exquisite jewelry. Yet Carson treats him as the most honored guest.

Things get curiouser when Jim recognizes the chauffeur, an old classmate who confesses he’s actually a police officer undercover trying to find Carson’s jewelry collection because a good portion is stolen.

Weekend at Thrackley is a refreshing tonic after some serious and disturbing reading. It’s deliciously snarky. Something tells me Melville really did not have much tolerance for fools. I will confess it some ways it is quite ridiculous. Let’s just say if I bought a house, completely refurbished it and poured a fortune into it, I would feel an attachment. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it a lot. Perhaps I was just in the right mood to overlook a few plot points and suspend my disbelief. Perhaps it was because it was just so archly sardonic. Perhaps it was Mary’s surprising ruthlessness. Putting them together, I was happy to just go with the story, no matter how silly in some ways, and enjoy it as it is.

Weekend at Thrackley will be released August 7th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

Weekend at Thrackley at Poisoned Pen Press.
Alan Melville at Wikipedia
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Edwin Carson invites several persons to spend the weekend at his country house in Surrey. Captain Jim Henderson is among those invited. He does not know why he is on the guest list but decides to go for the adventure and food if nothing else. Adventure they get. Jim discovers a microphone hidden in the chimney in his room and in his friend's room as well. The rest of the novel concerns stolen jewels and even includes murder. The question is not so much whodunit as "will the victims escape the country house." I imagine the puzzle was quite good in its day, but it is unlikely to resound with modern readers as much. I received an electronic galley from the publisher (Poisoned Pen Press) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This house party mystery was written in 1934. Jim Henderson finds himself one of six guests invited to Thrackley, Surrey by a Edwin Carson who says that he was a friend of Jim's father. With the other guests being relatively wealthly compared to him Jim has no idea was he is really there. But all will be revealed by the end of the weekend.
An enjoyable mystery though more of an adventure story than a murder mystery.

This one was a bit far-fetched and over the top for my taste, and the characterizations didn't work very well, but I still found it a reasonably enjoyable bedtime read.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advance eBook of this book. The views expressed are my own.

This is a suspenseful country-house mystery story. It's got an interesting plot that will easily keep your attention to the dramatic few chapters when the villain is dealt with. The house called Thrackley is as much as a character as any of the humans. From its introduction, Thrackley is portrayed as a sinister evil entity and plays a huge role in creating the suspense which makes this book an entertaining read.

The scene in Chapter 17 when Lady Stone, one of the week-end guests, attempts to thwart an elaborate burglar alarm system is a funny break from the suspense. It is not to be missed.

The Introduction by show more Martin Edwards is, as usual, a great scene-setter.

Recommended show less

Jim Henderson, not quite down and out but long unemployed, gets a surprise invitation to a weekend at a country manor in Surrey called Thrackley. In the fine tradition of Golden Age mysteries, the place is dark and forbidding, and the owner, Edwin Carson, has plenty to hide. I won’t spoil the fun by telling more except to say that author Alan Melville loaded plenty of twists, suspense and surprises in this gem, first published in 1934.

I’ll be seeking to read more Melville novels.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

Reprint, cosy-mystery, British, amateur-sleuth, historical-fiction, sly-humor
I love these reprints almost as much as the Charlie Chan and Thin Man series! Well written and twisty, complete with a few red herrings, the mystery holds attention. The characters are so clearly presented and the scene so intricately described that I felt like I was there! I guarantee that I will keep sniffing around so that I can read all that the Poisoned Pen Press puts out in the British Library Crime Classics.
I requested and received a free review copy via NetGalley. Thank you!