Mystery of the Dead Police

A thriller rather than a mystery, by my definition, since there is no “detection” per se. In any event, catching the criminal seems to be mostly a pretext for a complicated romantic plot of extreme artificiality. But the writing is a cut above.

Hit-and-miss thriller from the 1930s, set in contemporary London. A fiend is killing policemen, and Scotland Yard struggles to catch the killer. Enter a smooth operator, who may have more than one reason for being so helpful to the police. Also enter the beautiful daughter of the police commissioner (predating Batman, it should be noted), and a massive, stolid baronet/race-car driver. There are some highly amusing bits, such as a newsreel-type sequence where some events are studded, and a hilarious pastiche of Hansard debates. But even though we hear from the killer throughout the novel via diary entries, we really don't get a grip on who the killer is. I didn't really feel satisfied with how the story was wrapped up. I can't honestly show more recommend it. show less

This begins with two things I dislike, first a murder told from the point of view of a sympathetic victim, in this case a brave young policemen, and second, an episode told from he murderer's point of view. After that, however, he becomes much more agreeable with the mysterious Mr. Revel undertaking to free Christopher Vayne, a war hero and amateur racing car driver, whose penchant for stealing policemen's helmets has brought him under suspicion for the murder of the policeman whose helmet he stole. Revel is motivated by an apparent interest in Jane Frensham, Vayne's ex-fiancée and daughter of the head of Scotland yard..

Philip MacDonald's Mystery of the Dead Police (originally published in 1933 as "X v. Rex" by Martin Porlock) is written in a somewhat leisurely style where the author quite often 'breaks through' to the reader with asides and comments. Long narrative chapters alternate with short diary entries written by the murderer. It seemed at times that the narrative was simply meandering, and it was very 'talky' in places with paragraphs running to one or two pages long. But then you'd get to the point, and think, 'ah, yes.' I initially thought the book might be part of MacDonald's Colonel Anthony Gethryn series - it's not, although Gethryn would have fit right in with the proceedings. Not for everyone, and not something I'm likely to ever reread. show more But I liked it well enough this one time. show less

Pretty good. Philip MacDonald basically invented the serial killer subgenre with this book. It's quite readable too, perhaps a tad long, and the denouement is a bit difficult to follow.