Tag: moray dalton

The Night of Fear (1931) by Moray Dalton

December 25, 2019

The Night of Fear by Moray Dalton

6 stars (6/10 stars)

“He stopped when he had nearly reached the gates and looked back at the house. From that distance it was beautiful, shining like a pearl in the pale wintry sunshine against the russet and umber background of the leafless woods. Since last night a house with a secret. If walls could speak, what would they have to tell?”

It’s almost Christmas and countless creatures are stirring in the country home of George Tunbridge. His guests have scattered throughout the dark house for a game of hide and seek. Though blind World War I veteran Hugh Darrow isn’t really in the mood to play, he’s willing to go along with the group. That is, until a mysterious dripping sound reveals that he is sharing his hiding place with a bloody corpse. The mood is anything but festive as Superintendent Hugh Collier investigates a Yuletide murder. Continue reading “The Night of Fear (1931) by Moray Dalton”

Death in the Cup (1932) by Moray Dalton

May 3, 2019

Death in the Cup by Moray Dalton

7 Stars (7/10 stars)

“It really is a terrible family, Geoffrey. They’re simply awful. Those that aren’t mad are bad, and that’s about it.”

The Armours have been a scandalous family ever since their father married the governess when his wife was barely cold in the ground. No one could have predicted that oldest daughter Bertha, the most conventional Armour, would create the greatest sensation of all by becoming a murder victim. Unless, of course, poison turns out to run in the family. Continue reading “Death in the Cup (1932) by Moray Dalton”

The Strange Case of Harriet Hall (1936) by Moray Dalton

April 15, 2019

The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton 1936 book cover

6 stars (6/10 stars)

“It’s murder,” said the sergeant. “Murder. And you’ve started the machinery whose wheels will only cease running when the culprit has been brought to justice. You’ve been a bit slow, if you’ll excuse my saying so, to see all the implications, but the fact remains that you set the law in motion, Mr. Dene. You put the penny in the slot, in a manner of speaking. It’ll be something for you to remember.”

As far as she knows, Amy Steer is alone in the world, struggling to earn her own living in London. It seems like a miracle when she is offered a home by her previously unknown aunt, Harriet Hall. But why does the nice young man she meets on the train abandon Amy after learning who her aunt is? Why isn’t she met at the station? And why is there no sign of Mrs. Hall when Amy arrives at her lonely cottage? When Harriet Hall’s corpse turns up at the bottom of a well, Amy learns that her aunt was hiding some deadly secrets. Continue reading “The Strange Case of Harriet Hall (1936) by Moray Dalton”