Republished: March 2014 by The British Library Publishing Division
Category: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Police Procedural, Book Review
The Reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside – but heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across his seaside parish.
This classic mystery of the golden age of British crime is set against the vividly described backdrop of a fishing village on Cornwall’s Atlantic coast. It is now republished for the first time since the 1930s with an introduction by the award-winning crime writer Martin Edwards.
Reverend Dodd, vicar of St Michael’s-on-the-Cliff, enjoys his Monday evening dinner engagements with Doctor Pendrill. Boscawen is a small isolated fishing village on the Cornish coast and both the vicar and the doctor look forward to their weekly meetings. Over an after dinner coffee they open the crate of library books each takes a turn in choosing, most commonly crime stories which they’re both addicted to, and are discussed in detail. Reverend Dodds has become quite good at solving mysteries by recalling previous twists, traps and detection methods, whereas they are proving a little more difficult for the doctor.
One stormy Monday evening there’s an urgent phone call to the vicarage from Ruth Tregarthan, looking for the doctor. Her uncle has been shot at his house. For all the enjoyment he has reading about it, Reverend Dodds never imagined there could ever be such a crime as murder committed in this quiet little village. Julius Tregarthan wasn’t an easy man to like but what could have made someone shoot him? Inspector Bigswell is the investigating officer but Reverend Dobbs can’t help but put his amateur detecting skills to the test, giving the inspector valuable help along the way.
Never, even in his most optimistic moments, had he visualised a scene of this nature — himself in one arm-chair, a police officer in another, and between them . . . a mystery.
Thanks for that introduction, Cathy. (Gorgeous cover.)
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You’re welcome 🙂 I’ve splashed out on another couple and the covers are equally as lovely.
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I read this on my Kindle a while ago and really enjoyed it; I love Cornwall, enjoy ‘being’ in the thirties and I liked the ‘railway poster’ style cover – not that I could see it once on my Kindle! I also read his story set in the Lake District ( another part of the country I love ), but that didn’t click with me.
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Oh, sorry you didn’t like the Lake District one, I have that and the Sussex Downs Murder in my TBR stack.
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Don’t let me put you off! I’ll look for the Sussex Downs Murder next.
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I will give it a go 🙂
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As an addict of these BL Crime Classics, I’m so glad you enjoyed it enough to want to read more. I haven’t read this one but have read a couple of John Bude’s other books. I’ve enjoyed them but he’s not my favourite of the ones I’ve read so far. The great thing about the series is that there’s so much variety in them – something for everyone, for sure! Hope you get hooked (you know addicts always want to drag others down with them… 😉 )
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I have the Lake District and Sussex Downs Murders but any recommendations gratefully accepted 😁
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I keep meaning to do a post of my top 5 or 10 at some point, but meantime I highly recommend Verdict of Twelve, The Murder of My Aunt and Fire in the Thatch. 😀
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Thanks very much, I’ll check them out 😊
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I think I’d probably enjoy this too, Cathy. I love period novels and as this was actually written at the time, I’d probably enjoy the style as well 🙂
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It’s my first one but I think I’ll be reading more of these classics 😊
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Fabulous, Cathy. I have been listening to audio books of Agatha Christie’s novels.
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I’m listening to Murder at The Vicarage!
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That one is good too.
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