Golden Age (50) : Suddenly at his Residence

This novel by Christianna Brand is an Inspector Cockrill mystery (though i don't think i have read of this detective before). Set in the Second World War, this is a good family murder drama with the usual mixed cast of characters who range in various degrees of annoyance. This does make the dialogue a little hard going at times.

However, the story has a good twist and an action packed final act with the bombing of the murder scene. Unfortunately, the previous acts can sometimes drag.

Golden Age (49) : Murder of the Ninth Baronet

The Murder of the Ninth Baronet by J.S. Fletcher is an interesting series of cases handled by private investigators. The murder of a man, recently back in Britain after a long time overseas, appears wrapped up in a number of other crimes including other murders and the theft of diamonds. There is also the question as to whether or not he was the long-lost heir, the 9th baronet indeed, of a country estate.

An interesting read with some good red herrings. However, the story is somewhat marred by the eventual culprit being a bit left field and also uncovered rather suddenly. I enjoyed the story being based in the Midlands.

Golden Age (48) : Black Cabinet

"Black Cabinet" by Patricia Wentworth is the tale of a young heiress who uncovers the dark secret of her inheritance, details of which are locked up in a large piece of furniture. A brutal gang want to silence her (and get their hands on her inheritance of course)...

A fast moving adventure with continuous peril. An enjoyable read though the heroine was a bit wearisome at times and makes a few decisions which seem a bit odd, though help pad the story out a bit more. The energy of the story helps pull you through.

Golden Age (47) : Fire in the Thatch

This enjoyable novel by ECR Lorac slowly sets up the scene in a cosy rural setting in Devon at the end of the Second World War as a recently discharged Royal Navy man takes over a neglected cottage and aims to become a market gardener.

Then we jump straight into a police procedural after the crime has taken place. The investigation is nicely complicated and involves investigating into the secrets of the victim's past to establish a motive and hence identify the perpetrator. A good read.

Golden Age (46) : The Big Bow Mystery

The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill is a fine little mystery, one of the earliest locked room detective stories where an impossible crime has apparently taken place. The joy of these kinds of stories (which were very popular in the Interwar Period) is the journey as we follow the detective who investigates the scenario thoroughly, applying logical reasoning to make the impossible actually possible.

Once you get to the conclusion in this story (which can be hard work at times, the story does drag a bit) it is undoubtably interesting though maybe (spoiler alert) a bit of a cheat. (The detective did it, the victim was still alive when he broke the door open). The use of psychology is clever however.

An interesting bit of late Victorian social comment and satire, though can be a bit slow.

Golden Age (45) : The Leavenworth Case

The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green is a late 19th century crime story set in New York. A popular story in it's time and said to be Stanley Baldwin's favourite story. 

The story revolves around the murder of a rich merchant (Leavenworth). Suspicion falls upon the two nieces and a mysterious man. An investigator and a lawyer tackle the case.

Quite why this story was so popular is the true mystery (sorry Mr Baldwin!) I found the story a bit slow and tedious though it is undeniably well written but by the time you find out who was the murderer you have largely lost interest. It also suffers from a bit of over the top melodrama like many Victorian novels.

Golden Age (44) : Death in White Pjyamas

Death in white pjyamas by John Bude mixes the world of murder with the even more treacherous world of the theatre! 

A group of actors are gathered at the estate of their rich backer to research before their next play. Crimes then begin to occur, first theft of money then finally the theatre set designer being found dead in a lake in her white pjyamas.

The story is a little slow to get going, and has a lot of characters who need to be established which doesn't help with the pacing early on but once it is up and running, and the police detective gets to work, it is a fine murder mystery.

Golden Age (43) : Foreign Bodies

Collections of Golden Age crime short stories are not that rare, but this one features stories by non-Anglosphere writers and, while a mixed bag, is overall pretty good indeed. 

Oddly enough the worst story here is by the most famous author. I found Anton Chekhov's story a bit impenetable.

Highlights of the collection include Koga Saburo's fun but bizarre story about a rotating spider lab which is probably the best story in the collection. 

Also involving spiders is a good story by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Another highlight is Maria Elvira Bermudez's tale of murder and family secrets. A great and varied collection of stories.

Golden Age (42) : Called Back

In Called Back by Hugh Conway, a blind man witnesses (though not be sight of course) a terrible crime, a murder. Later on his blindness is cured and he falls in love with a mysterious woman. However, he knows that she was involved in the crime but not exactly how...

Although the book was apparently a success when released in the late 19th century, and was adapted into a stage play, i found this a troublesome and frequently annoying read. 

The story moves on at a pace though i found it rather melodramatic and the plot a bit too fanciful, though a common fault/feature (delete depending on your point of view) of the time.

Golden Age (41) : Death Knows No Calendar

Death knows no calendar is an excellent locked room mystery by John Bude. An artist is found dead in her studio, apparently murdered by someone but the room was locked from the inside so how did it happen?

The amateur detective in this Golden Age novel is Boddy, a former Army officer. He begins to investigate a varied set of suspects, who all possibly had competed for the artist's affections, including a missing priest and the victim's partner.

An interesting murder mystery, though maybe not one for many surprises. The mystery works more for it's ingenuity of how the fairly obvious culprit carried out the crime than anything else but it a perfectly decent story.

Golden Age (40) : The House Opposite

The House Opposite by J. Jefferson Farjeon is apparently the second Ben the Tramp story. Now Ben is the main character of this tale, a good old gentleman of the road who stumbles upon mysterious and even murderous goings on in the house opposite the one he is squatting in.

Ben is reluctantly drawn in to try and solve the mysterious goings on. The story is fairly unusual but at times a bit hard going. I've always found trying to read strong dialect is a bit tedious but i suppose it makes Ben more authentic. Once the story gets going its worth the read but getting there without giving up is the key.

Golden Age (39) : Portrait of a Murderer

"Portrait of a murderer" by Anne Meredith is an excellent Golden Age mystery. A gentleman is murdered on Christmas Eve. One of his six children, has killed him. However, this isn't a whodunnit. We witness the murder, then examine each of the children in turn, looking into their backgrounds and lives, creating characters with depth.

The story thus stands out from a lot of it's peers. This is more a psychological study of murder and motive than the standard detective yarn of the period and how the culprit tries to avoid being discovered. It may lack suspense but makes up with with good characterisation. 

The interesting premise may though be the best part about the story, the initial part especially is a bit of a slog though it does pick up later on.

Golden Age (38) : The Rogues’ Syndicate

An enjoyable murder mystery from the Collins Detective Club by former police detective Frank Froëst. This first hand knowledge of actual police work and Scotland Yard is well used in this story.

A young man is handed a package by a strange woman in the London fog. Soon he finds himself accused of killing the woman's father and being involved in a larger conspiracy. The real criminals are an organised gang. Can detective Menzies sort out what is really going on?

This is a solid police procedural, it might be a little dated (being written during the First World War) and had a little bit of an international flavour with some American characters in old London town (some with rather ridiculous names). However, it's a solid enough read without being too memorable.

Golden Age (37) : The Affair of the Blood-Stained Egg Cosy

Although set in the Golden Age, and often has the look and feel of such this was written in the 1970s by James Anderson and is the first of a series set in the same country house. Therefore it is a pastiche but don't let that put you off as it is indeed pretty good. 

The story is highly complicated and has all the tropes you expect from a Golden Age mystery, its set in a dark country house and includes a cast of toffs, flappers, a bumbling (but ultimately efficient) police detective, perky keen amateurs and plenty of red herrings and puzzles. There is even a map!

The book is well written and an enjoyable read, it just about manages to err on the right side of parody though at times a close run thing. A superb send-up and celebration of a genre.

Golden Age (36) : Dark Days

Day Days by Hugh Conway is set in the late 19th century (and was written then too) and is a piece of Victorian melodrama. Dr North falls in love with the beautiful Philippa. Or should i say he becomes a love sick puppy over her. 

Unfortunately for him she marries someone else, Dr North is heartbroken but goes away to the countryside to bury himself in his work. Then a few years later Philippa comes back into his life, unhappy in marriage. Dr North hopes that she will finally come away with him but then we discover she has murdered her abusive partner and now needs Dr North's help to covering up her crime...

Overall this is a reasonable read though the overt emotionalism of the love-sick narrator (North) can be a bit off putting at times, especially early on. 

Golden Age (35) : Beware of Johnny Washington

An early postwar story by Francis Durbridge, he reworked the first Paul Temple radio serial he had written with new characters and this is the result. 

Johnny Washington is a debonaire American gentleman and newspaper columnist who is framed to be involved with a successful gang of jewel thieves. Johnny Washington becomes involved in the hunt for the gang's leader, the elusive Grey Moose, alongside the enigmatic Horatio Quince...

This is a good fun read. It is a bit of a cheat maybe, being a rewrite of an earlier book but has plenty of drive and energy. And a definite sense of style.

Golden Age (34) : The Man Who Didn't Fly

This is an interesting mystery by Margot Bennett. Four men take a plane over to Ireland but when it crashes in the sea (after what seem to be an explosion) only three were aboard. Suspicion thus falls on the fourth man, the one who didn't fly. The problem is working out who it is.

The police go through the last few days before the accident, re-tracing the steps of the four individuals trying to find any clues... 

The problem is it all becomes a bit over complicated, rambling and dull. After the umpteenth lengthly monologue by a fairly one dimensional character you do tend to lose track of what the book is actually about. The premise is great, the execution lets it down quite a bit unfortunately. The final police reasoning and logical investigation at the end does save things a bit, but only a bit.

Golden Age (33) : The Rynox Mystery

This crime story by Philip MacDonald is an unusual Golden Age novel, in that it deals primarily with financial crime rather than some toff murdered in a country house. 

The story is unusual for a number of other reasons, there is no real detective on show, the structure of the story is also unusual for a Golden Age novel with the epilogue at the start! However, this does set up the mystery nicely. The story follows in three acts and concludes with the prologue (of course).

The story maybe lacks much in the way of action though has some interesting twists and turns and is well written. An unusual story that just about doesn't outstay it's welcome. An enjoyable read though you probably wouldn't want to read many stories like this.

Golden Age (32) : The Silk Stocking Murders

The Silk Stocking Murders by Anthony Berkeley involves a sexual sadist murderer who hangs girls using silk stockings, quite racy for a late 1920s detective novel!

As this is a true Golden Age crime novel, the main detective work is carried out by an enthusiastic amateur (in this case Roger Sheringham) who benefits from a very accepting police force. The crimes are at first treated as suicide but Roger suspects foul play. How he proves it and unmasks the murderer is very innovative, to the point of absurdity but at least it is pretty unique...

A decent read, full of period feel (not always for the best, the story is marred by anti-Semiticism). Sheringham is a good detective hero, not quite as clever as he thinks he is. He makes mistakes and this adds to the richness of his character.

Golden Age (31) : The Colour of Murder

The Colour of Murder by Julian Symonds is an unusual and interesting crime novel. The crime is told in two ways, through a psychiatric assessment of the defendant told via a first person narration and also via the trial itself. 

The defendant is an unexceptional man, living a routine life with a dull but solid career and an unhappy marriage. He begins to fantasise about a young woman at the library who he thinks likes her with eventual terrible consequences.

The story is very good, with a number of levels of ambiguity to make the reader unsure as to what exactly happened and who is at fault. Despite the fact that the main characters are all rather unsympathetic in various ways and to carying degrees (this can make the first part rather hard going at times), this is an engaging story with a number of twists.