(7/10 stars)

“The more closely one looks at it the more crazy it seems to be. And yet three people have died. So that it must have meant something vital to somebody…”

Until a few days ago, no one had ever heard of Mrs. Warren Clinton. Now suddenly she is everywhere. A wealthy American widow, Mrs. Clinton has gathered together nine outstanding citizens, each gifted in their own way, for a scheme designed to save the British Empire in the midst of war. These chosen few have been brought to a secret location where their abilities will be put to the test by Mrs. Clinton. By the end of the weekend, however, two of them will be dead in the most scandalous circumstances. Their benefactress is missing. Now Anthony Bathurst is the one whose powers will be tested, and the fate of the nation may depend upon him. Continue reading “Glittering Prizes (1942) by Brian Flynn”

(7/10 stars)

“This case is full of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts,’ Mr. Bathurst. I don’t like it because of that. Doubts about everything everywhere. No—I don’t like it.”

Everyone dreams, but what if your dream is one of murder? That is the case for Claude Merivale. The handsome actor walks into Scotland Yard one morning to turn himself in for the murder of his wife Vera. His extraordinary defense is that he killed her in his sleep, while dreaming that he was fending off an attack.

As Merivale’s trial draws near, Anthony Bathurst and Chief Inspector Andrew MacMorran have only three weeks to investigate his story. The stakes are high: if the dream defense is successful, “only about two and a half percent of married women will be safe o’nights.” Could Merivale be telling the truth? Or are his dreams even darker than he claims? Continue reading “Tread Softly (1937) by Brian Flynn”

 (7/10 stars)

“The worst mistake any investigator can make is to let his brain run away and play mental Badminton with fanciful theories.”

The Westhampton Hunt Ball is in full swing, “represent[ing] all that was select, some of what was superior, and most of what was supercilious in the county of Westhamptonshire.” There is an extra charge in the air this year, because the local bank has narrowly escaped a scandal that would have financially destroyed many of the revelers. As if that weren’t enough excitement, it’s even rumored that royalty is attending in disguise.

More than a year later, an unidentified woman is found dead in the dentist’s chair at a seaside resort, supposedly a suicide. Who is she? And what really happened at the Westhampton Ball? Continue reading “The Mystery of the Peacock’s Eye (1928) by Brian Flynn”