The Cask

Convoluted tale of murder involving body in a cask, complex alibi and a weak conclusion as the perp confessed to two detectives then locks them in burning house and goes to his club. The confession cheats us out of the detectives actually solving the case fully and the perp seems not to have considered that the police might investigate if they find two bodies in a locked room in a house burned by arson.

law-enforcement, procedural, Paris, London, murder-investigation *****

A classic work combining the Surete and Scotland Yard meticulously digging about in order to get the right murderer enclosed in an airtight legal case in 1912. The plot crisscrosses the channel and has more twists and red herrings than the reader can deal with except to simply read and enjoy!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Dover Publications via NetGalley. Thank you!

Freeman Wills Crofts' first mystery, about a wine cask unloaded from a ship from France found to contain gold sovereigns, sawdust, and a woman's body --a cask which vanishes soon after it is discovered. Like several of Crofts' other stories it makes use of his personal professional expertise as engineer for a shipping company, and it was in fact written during an illness while he was still serving as such an engineer. The one major difference from most of his other stories is that it does not involve his series detective Inspector French; the Scotland Yard man who is called in is Inspector Burnley, and the mystery is actually solved by Georges La Touche from France. Considered a classic mystery.

First published in 1920 a golden age mystery book, The events take place in 1912 in both England and France. This is the first book for Freeman Wills Crofts, Interesting read with lost of turn, threads and complex plot. Good book overall with a solid. 3 stars rating. Keep in mind the age of the book while reading.

First published in 1920 a golden age mystery book, The events take place in 1912 in both England and France. This is the first book for Freeman Wills Crofts, Interesting read with lost of turn, threads and complex plot. Good book overall with a solid. 3 stars rating. Keep in mind the age of the book while reading.

Extremely satisfying mystery!