The Theft of the Iron Dogs

In The Theft of the Iron Dogs, Giles Hoggett is unsettled by the notion that someone’s been hiding out in one of the more remote cottages without proper permission. Things are left just a bit wrong and just a bit out of place. As it happens, Inspector Macdonald is visiting the region, following up on a member of what appears to be a crime syndicate out of London. The agricultural community is disgruntled in part by the disruptions of wartime regulations, but more by those who might be “just travelin through”. It’s a slow start – no dead body appears until about 100 pages in – but the descriptions and the characterizations make that slow pace thoroughly enjoyable. The reader is just as annoyed as the unhappy farmers over the show more disruption that suddenly draws attention away from their daily occupations. It’s fun seeing Macdonald’s London-bred cockney assistant arrive in the area and find his own way of connecting with the locals. Underneath everything, the people who live here are good. That outlook on humanity is what makes Lorac’s crime novels so appealing and enjoyable. show less

I was curious about this author, whose mysteries I had never read, and the setting - England shortly after World War II - was tempting. It was an interesting read. While I'm not a fan of the puzzles in old school mysteries, and this one is chock full of the equivalent of train time-tables as the key to the mystery (yawn), I loved the northern setting. It's clear the author loves the landscape of the Lancashire Dales and its farming inhabitants and the descriptions are terrific. The treatment of a traveler couple is initially concerning (a sympathetic character immediately assumes they're guilty of something because of who they are) but becomes more nuanced and interesting. There's also a nice contrast between the immediate post-war show more experience of southern and urban England with this farming area where eggs are plentiful and the kind of greed that motivates a conman to make money off of stolen clothing rations is a foreign import.

So, high marks for setting and character development (especially of the good guys and the hapless artist). Fewer points for plot - it had potential, and lots of red herrings, but got awfully bogged down in retelling clues over and over as the classic puzzle mysteries so often indulged in. Glad I read it, but I doubt I'd go out of my way to read more. show less

Oh wow is this good writing of a style we don't see anymore, of an age that is gone.

Mr. Lorac's descriptive prose is wonderful. He evokes rural Lancashire with a clear eye. He celebrates the intelligence of farmers without worship. He balances their skills with the entirely different set of skills of the London detectives. Each is useful. Each should be respected. The information about land management practices is fascinating.

The bad guys in this story are interlopers, who don't recognize and value the attributes of the farmers and they get caught because of it.

There is very little action in this book but the story moves forward quickly.

I received an eARC of this story from the publisher through NetGalley.

A most enjoyable, classic mystery from shortly after World War 2 (written in 1946).

Farmer Giles Hoggett discovers some items are missing from his remote cottage. Inspector Macdonald, who is in the farming country investigating another case, soon gets involved investigating the missing items and, not surprisingly, a murder, as well.

Great writing and terrific characters. Highly recommended!!

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

Lunesdale. Farmer Gile Hoggett contacts DCI MacDonald at Scotland Yard about thefts at a cottage on his lands. On arrival he finds more thefts have occurred, and a sighting of a man missing from London, a racketeer. But soon a body is discovered.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main character supported by a cast of varied personalities. It can easily be read as a standalone story. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.

cozy-crime, British-Crime-Classics, British-detective, vintage-cozy-mystery, Yorkshire, Lancashire, series, suspense, crime-fiction, dairy-cows, rural, local-law-enforcement, investigations, murder, fishing*****

Classic is right! Due diligence beats lack of legal evidence and unavailability of forensic technology. I mean, it was written in 1946! Giles Hoggett is a bookseller turned dairy farmer whose pleasant wife keeps telling him to write his stories down. Inspector Robert MacDonald is a London CID man who used to be well acquainted with Hoggett. When there is some dodgy theft and a missing person in the area, Hoggett writes it up with wife's approval and contacts MacDonald to come up for some fishing and to check out what's going on. show more The local law is not offended, there is investigating to be done, and it even turns out to assist in a fraud case MacDonald was stumped on. Good writing, delightful characters, beautiful scenery, and a nice look into the past.
I requested and received a free temporary efile from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
#TheTheftOfTheIronDogs by E.C.R. Lorac #LancashireMysteries #BritishLibraryCrimeClassics @PoisonedPenPress #VintageBritishCrime #InspectorMacDonald #Series #CozyProcedural @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble @kobobooks @waterstones ***** #Review @booksamillion @bookshop_org @bookshop_org_uk show less

The titular “iron dogs” are two canine-shaped fireplace irons to hold the logs in a fireplace hearth in a Lancaster cottage. With that out of the way, several odd items of not much value are stolen, while more profitable ones are not. That gets bookseller-turned-farmer Giles Hoggett to mail a letter to Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald. Wanting a break, he uses the low-level theft as an excuse to spend a weekend in his beloved Lancashire.

While Macdonald tries to take a vacation, murder does not. While there, Macdonald realizes that the weaselly suspect in his current case in London has made his way to Lunesdale, Lancashire, where Macdonald is staying.

While The Theft of the Iron Dogs is 28th book in the series, these novels can be show more read in any order, and newbies won’t have any trouble with it. For those who fall in love with the Lune Valley, a real-life valley in North England, as Macdonald does, be assured that he will revisit Lunesdale again and again.

Special thanks to British Library and Poisoned Pen Press for re-releasing another of E.C.R. Lorac’s wonderful Golden Age mysteries.

This book was also published as Murderer's Mistake.

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