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The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley
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112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 1915
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70 people want to read
About the author
Louis Tracy
227 books16 followersLouis Tracy (1863 - 1928) was a British journalist, and prolific writer of fiction. He used the pseudonyms Gordon Holmes and Robert Fraser, which were at times shared with M.P. Shiel, a collaborator from the start of the twentieth century.
Around 1884 he became a reporter for a local paper - 'The Northern Echo' at Darlington, circulating in parts of Durham and North Yorkshire; later he worked for papers in Cardiff and Allahabad.
During 1892-1894 he was closely associated with Arthur Harmsworth, in 'The Sun' and 'The Evening News and Post'.
Around 1884 he became a reporter for a local paper - 'The Northern Echo' at Darlington, circulating in parts of Durham and North Yorkshire; later he worked for papers in Cardiff and Allahabad.
During 1892-1894 he was closely associated with Arthur Harmsworth, in 'The Sun' and 'The Evening News and Post'.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 12, 2017
Three and a half stars.
Fairly typical English country house murder with several suspects all having cast iron alibis.
The two Scotland Yard detectives are of the upper crust sort. The superintendent is English and the inspector a Channel Islander. Both speak French and often converse in it. However, pretty well all of their dialogue in English is conducted in "witty banter" with a literary style which is quite amusing at first but becomes very tiresome and annoying after a short time. If it wasn't for this I would have rated it higher as the story is good, well written and the characters well drawn.
Fairly typical English country house murder with several suspects all having cast iron alibis.
The two Scotland Yard detectives are of the upper crust sort. The superintendent is English and the inspector a Channel Islander. Both speak French and often converse in it. However, pretty well all of their dialogue in English is conducted in "witty banter" with a literary style which is quite amusing at first but becomes very tiresome and annoying after a short time. If it wasn't for this I would have rated it higher as the story is good, well written and the characters well drawn.
May 14, 2016
Nice cozy mystery that kept me spellbound until I finished it. I would recommend this one.
August 30, 2017
A stunning whodunit that was solved in one day! (Note the sarcasm). Two of Scotland Yard's finest have been summoned to solved the ghastly murder of one Mortimer Fenley, a rich guy-and banker to boot, and you know how shady those guys can be. The detectives were depressingly one dimensional, the French Forneaux in the mold of a brilliant buffoon, and his boss Winter, a lumbering lug with a personality to match. Together they set out to solve a ridiculously improbable crime like another day at the office.
The story falls on its face from the beginning. Struggling artist John Trenholme sneaks onto the Fenley property to sketch the home and its manicured grounds. There he sees the the beautiful Sylvia, a ward of Mortimer Fenley, taking a dip in the lake. Hidden in the bushes, he observes-and paints the half naked beauty. It was during his voyeuristic dalliance that he heard the shot. He thought it unusual, given the populated area, but didn't give it much further thought, even when he happened upon a policeman patrolling the area. Better scenario: Trenholme spots Sylvia by the lake. She strips to the buff and dives in. While Trenholme is pleasuring himself in the midst of this voyeuristic gift, the cop happens upon him. "Hallo there!" Well, it would have been less prudish than the book anyway.
Much of the book is dialogue, which is as one dimensional as the characters. Even when characters were thinking to themselves the dialogue was stiff. the characters thinking to themselves seemed contrived. No thinking in pictures, which would have dovetailed nicely, considering one of the protagonists was an artist.
The story would have been more interesting if hot Sylvia, and younger son Robert Fenley, who I imagined in the likeness of Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones were more involved in the story. Robert was a gun toting, motorcycle riding thug, and Sylvia, disgusted with both him and his older brother Hilton, was ready to jump on any man other than them. Enter John Trenholme. She apparently was turned on by the fact that Trenholme had spied on her and painted a scandalous account of her morning swim. But, in the world of Louis Tracy, her reaction was completely normal.
None of the characters knows what a girl wants; apparently, neither does the author.
Thus to romantic minds it was redolent of romance;
Chicks just love that stuff.
Trenholme the voyeur just happened to be trespassing once again, and kicked Robert's ass and picked up the swooning girl. Chicks just love that stuff.
Sylvia, who had not been afraid to venture alone into the park at midnight, was now in a quite feminine state of fright
But she had trenholme to protect her. Chicks just love that stuff.
As with most books of this time period, there was an incidental amount of what would now be considered racism, but I doubt it was seen that way at the time. I guess you had to be there. But, we only get a Euro-Anglo perspective, and no doubt there is plenty a racism across the rainbow of skin color. I only make note of this because it had nothing to do with the story. These people also drank at every meal and were likely always over the legal limit. I only note this because it may have had a lot to do with the behavior of the characters.
I didn't hate the book; it just didn't hold my interest, and the deductions of the detectives seemed messy and hard to follow. No surprise since they were likely drunk and still able to solve the case in a day.
The story falls on its face from the beginning. Struggling artist John Trenholme sneaks onto the Fenley property to sketch the home and its manicured grounds. There he sees the the beautiful Sylvia, a ward of Mortimer Fenley, taking a dip in the lake. Hidden in the bushes, he observes-and paints the half naked beauty. It was during his voyeuristic dalliance that he heard the shot. He thought it unusual, given the populated area, but didn't give it much further thought, even when he happened upon a policeman patrolling the area. Better scenario: Trenholme spots Sylvia by the lake. She strips to the buff and dives in. While Trenholme is pleasuring himself in the midst of this voyeuristic gift, the cop happens upon him. "Hallo there!" Well, it would have been less prudish than the book anyway.
Much of the book is dialogue, which is as one dimensional as the characters. Even when characters were thinking to themselves the dialogue was stiff. the characters thinking to themselves seemed contrived. No thinking in pictures, which would have dovetailed nicely, considering one of the protagonists was an artist.
The story would have been more interesting if hot Sylvia, and younger son Robert Fenley, who I imagined in the likeness of Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones were more involved in the story. Robert was a gun toting, motorcycle riding thug, and Sylvia, disgusted with both him and his older brother Hilton, was ready to jump on any man other than them. Enter John Trenholme. She apparently was turned on by the fact that Trenholme had spied on her and painted a scandalous account of her morning swim. But, in the world of Louis Tracy, her reaction was completely normal.
None of the characters knows what a girl wants; apparently, neither does the author.
Thus to romantic minds it was redolent of romance;
Chicks just love that stuff.
Trenholme the voyeur just happened to be trespassing once again, and kicked Robert's ass and picked up the swooning girl. Chicks just love that stuff.
Sylvia, who had not been afraid to venture alone into the park at midnight, was now in a quite feminine state of fright
But she had trenholme to protect her. Chicks just love that stuff.
As with most books of this time period, there was an incidental amount of what would now be considered racism, but I doubt it was seen that way at the time. I guess you had to be there. But, we only get a Euro-Anglo perspective, and no doubt there is plenty a racism across the rainbow of skin color. I only make note of this because it had nothing to do with the story. These people also drank at every meal and were likely always over the legal limit. I only note this because it may have had a lot to do with the behavior of the characters.
I didn't hate the book; it just didn't hold my interest, and the deductions of the detectives seemed messy and hard to follow. No surprise since they were likely drunk and still able to solve the case in a day.
March 27, 2024
I have been entertaining hopes that this author might prove to be my next port of call for light untaxing detective fiction to replace J S Fletcher whose available works I have almost exhausted.
This features the series Scotland Yard detectives, Winter and Furneaux, a major plus point in that they appear,to an extent, to be more than competent as well as complementary:-
“Winter seldom failed to arrive at the only sound conclusion from ascertained facts, whereas Furneaux had an almost uncanny knowledge of the kinks and obliquities of the criminal mind. In the phraseology of logic, Winter applied the deductive method and Furneaux the inductive; when both fastened on to the same "suspect" the unlucky wight was in parlous state.”
In this case, the murder of the rich financier of the title, they have little doubt as to the identity of of the murderer (to the extent that this is effectively an inverted story) but naturally have to collect sufficient evidence to allow for an effective prosecution. Unfortunately they bungle this by trying to be too clever in their attempt to lull the perpetrator into giving themself away.
The tone is overly- fatuous and the author also attempts to parade his knowledge and appreciation of art, literature and classics in such a way that he over-lards his prose with quotation and allusion to the extent that he,and we,lose the plot. There is also a somewhat sickly romance element.
However these faults pale into relative insignificance when set against the eugenics, class and race agenda, more overt and distasteful than anything I have found even in R Austin Freeman.Thus Furneaux on Fenley’s elder son:-
‘"Some sons are the offspring of Beelzebub. Consider the parentage in this instance. …If the progeny of such a union escaped a hereditary taint it would be a miracle. Cremate Hilton Fenley and his very dust will contain evil germs."’
I have omitted the sentence which is most offensive and there are other references which are equally nasty. I am not an advocate of censorship, as we need to know how issues of class and race were dealt with in popular literature in other times,but the association here of class, race and hereditary/innate criminality is egregiously appalling.
I hope this is not a recurrent feature of Tracy’s work and certainly it was not present in the two other novels I have read. However the mechanics of the murder here are pretty doubtful and the investigation so botched that even without the racism and classism this would not have rated highly.
This features the series Scotland Yard detectives, Winter and Furneaux, a major plus point in that they appear,to an extent, to be more than competent as well as complementary:-
“Winter seldom failed to arrive at the only sound conclusion from ascertained facts, whereas Furneaux had an almost uncanny knowledge of the kinks and obliquities of the criminal mind. In the phraseology of logic, Winter applied the deductive method and Furneaux the inductive; when both fastened on to the same "suspect" the unlucky wight was in parlous state.”
In this case, the murder of the rich financier of the title, they have little doubt as to the identity of of the murderer (to the extent that this is effectively an inverted story) but naturally have to collect sufficient evidence to allow for an effective prosecution. Unfortunately they bungle this by trying to be too clever in their attempt to lull the perpetrator into giving themself away.
The tone is overly- fatuous and the author also attempts to parade his knowledge and appreciation of art, literature and classics in such a way that he over-lards his prose with quotation and allusion to the extent that he,and we,lose the plot. There is also a somewhat sickly romance element.
However these faults pale into relative insignificance when set against the eugenics, class and race agenda, more overt and distasteful than anything I have found even in R Austin Freeman.Thus Furneaux on Fenley’s elder son:-
‘"Some sons are the offspring of Beelzebub. Consider the parentage in this instance. …If the progeny of such a union escaped a hereditary taint it would be a miracle. Cremate Hilton Fenley and his very dust will contain evil germs."’
I have omitted the sentence which is most offensive and there are other references which are equally nasty. I am not an advocate of censorship, as we need to know how issues of class and race were dealt with in popular literature in other times,but the association here of class, race and hereditary/innate criminality is egregiously appalling.
I hope this is not a recurrent feature of Tracy’s work and certainly it was not present in the two other novels I have read. However the mechanics of the murder here are pretty doubtful and the investigation so botched that even without the racism and classism this would not have rated highly.
January 24, 2020
A Rather different yet familar Mystery book.
The set up is extremely familar Mortimer Fenley the celebrated and wealthy financier has been shot on his doorstep at 9am at his english estate known as the Towers. The house hold consists of two brothers and the daughter of Mortimer's deceased business partner put into his care. The elder son calls in Scotland Yard and our intrepid detectives enter the scene. Chales Feneux and James Winters are polar opposites who are good freinds with a fun and coeperative working relationship the interplay between the eloquent, Charles and the blunt James leads to some fun banter. The dynamic of two such different men complemntary reltionship is an entaining avoidaance of the Watson trope. Our every man is instead the artist who happened to be sketching when the murder occurs. He consequently becomes the romantic lead for Sylvia's affections the girl mentioned earlier in this review. As is also common in detective fiction this book has a romantic sub plot rather by the numbers but the genesis of their relationship is an amusing incident I will avoid spoiling and left me positive on the affair. This is almost an, inverted detective story as the detectives hit upon their culprit early on and never really consider another so, if you are looking for an ingenious puzzler you will be disappointed as the how is not very hard to discern. Howeverhis gives the story a different feel as it makes the murderer more of an opponent to the detectives for them to catch rather then a puzzle to solve. On the whole the book was very relient on tropes but did enough to distinguish itself to be enjoyable without becoming great. If it was a little more subversive I would rate it higher yet it predates a few of the other writers in the genre so it may have been copied more than falling victim to tropes as 1915 is Fairly Early in the golden age of Detective Fiction. Since this book is over a hundred years old there is some talk of noble bloodlines halfbreeds meaning mixed skin individuals and the such but I can only recall about three instances. Charles also loves his classical refrences and there are several that seem pretty obscure nowadays. As for the author Tracy is quite good at metaphor and simile with a flair for descriptive writing there is one clue he camouflages this way which a sharp reader will catch. I recommend the book as it is quite good for a free barely over a hundred page book.
The set up is extremely familar Mortimer Fenley the celebrated and wealthy financier has been shot on his doorstep at 9am at his english estate known as the Towers. The house hold consists of two brothers and the daughter of Mortimer's deceased business partner put into his care. The elder son calls in Scotland Yard and our intrepid detectives enter the scene. Chales Feneux and James Winters are polar opposites who are good freinds with a fun and coeperative working relationship the interplay between the eloquent, Charles and the blunt James leads to some fun banter. The dynamic of two such different men complemntary reltionship is an entaining avoidaance of the Watson trope. Our every man is instead the artist who happened to be sketching when the murder occurs. He consequently becomes the romantic lead for Sylvia's affections the girl mentioned earlier in this review. As is also common in detective fiction this book has a romantic sub plot rather by the numbers but the genesis of their relationship is an amusing incident I will avoid spoiling and left me positive on the affair. This is almost an, inverted detective story as the detectives hit upon their culprit early on and never really consider another so, if you are looking for an ingenious puzzler you will be disappointed as the how is not very hard to discern. Howeverhis gives the story a different feel as it makes the murderer more of an opponent to the detectives for them to catch rather then a puzzle to solve. On the whole the book was very relient on tropes but did enough to distinguish itself to be enjoyable without becoming great. If it was a little more subversive I would rate it higher yet it predates a few of the other writers in the genre so it may have been copied more than falling victim to tropes as 1915 is Fairly Early in the golden age of Detective Fiction. Since this book is over a hundred years old there is some talk of noble bloodlines halfbreeds meaning mixed skin individuals and the such but I can only recall about three instances. Charles also loves his classical refrences and there are several that seem pretty obscure nowadays. As for the author Tracy is quite good at metaphor and simile with a flair for descriptive writing there is one clue he camouflages this way which a sharp reader will catch. I recommend the book as it is quite good for a free barely over a hundred page book.
December 6, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this classic murder mystery. It was written in 1916, and since I've read few books from that era, it was a bit difficult to follow (but that was brief), only because of some references not common nowadays. Other readers have called this more of a howdunit than a whodunit. I agree. It's also more of a whydunit.
Two famous Scotland Yard detectives are called out to the country estate of a well-known banker, who was recently shot dead on his doorstep. The household has solid alibis, save one, who acts suspiciously. The detectives know who the killer is right away, but they don't let us in on their theory until much later, then of course, they must catch the culprit, plus prove that they did it. Ultimately, the fates of all the characters are revealed by the end, making for a very satisfying end.
As I said, this was a classic murder mystery, lacking today's preferences for violence, sex, language, etc. No forensic science, or hard-boiled detectives, just good, old-fashioned deduction and observation of human nature, with a dash of humor thrown in. A refreshing change of pace! I think I've found a new favorite author, & I can't wait to read more of his works.
Two famous Scotland Yard detectives are called out to the country estate of a well-known banker, who was recently shot dead on his doorstep. The household has solid alibis, save one, who acts suspiciously. The detectives know who the killer is right away, but they don't let us in on their theory until much later, then of course, they must catch the culprit, plus prove that they did it. Ultimately, the fates of all the characters are revealed by the end, making for a very satisfying end.
As I said, this was a classic murder mystery, lacking today's preferences for violence, sex, language, etc. No forensic science, or hard-boiled detectives, just good, old-fashioned deduction and observation of human nature, with a dash of humor thrown in. A refreshing change of pace! I think I've found a new favorite author, & I can't wait to read more of his works.
September 10, 2017
This book is just an average thriller one, a surprise for me because it belongs to the Golden Age. The reason I do not evaluate it highly because there wasn't much investigation and nearly no deduction in this crime. The crime itself was too easy to identify the murderer, and the motive and the way the culprit prepared and executed it were not hidden very well.
The highlight of this book? Well, it is the odd one out when you consider a Golden Age thriller which has the police win and there is no private detective on the stage. A pair of police officers working together in solving a crime, and only in a day. Even though the mystery is a easy one, and the pair got tripped at the last moment (I don't know what problem did the Golden Age has with the official police, LOL), it was like a brand new wind to me.
Another thing is the romance factor in this book. This had taken a considerable amount of the book, but thank goodness it wasn't cheesy. It was the combination of the knight-in-shining-armor and the spiritual love between two people.
The ending was commonplace, but there was a nice touch of reality when the author mentioned the war which came after the events.
The highlight of this book? Well, it is the odd one out when you consider a Golden Age thriller which has the police win and there is no private detective on the stage. A pair of police officers working together in solving a crime, and only in a day. Even though the mystery is a easy one, and the pair got tripped at the last moment (I don't know what problem did the Golden Age has with the official police, LOL), it was like a brand new wind to me.
Another thing is the romance factor in this book. This had taken a considerable amount of the book, but thank goodness it wasn't cheesy. It was the combination of the knight-in-shining-armor and the spiritual love between two people.
The ending was commonplace, but there was a nice touch of reality when the author mentioned the war which came after the events.
October 5, 2019
2.75, really. The book has some glorious turns of phrase, and the main attraction to me is the dynamics of Winter and Furneaux, which were a joy to read - I am a simple person to please, give me two human disasters and they can carry a fair amount of plots, even a mystery that was ultimately thinner than the title’s promise of a strange case suggested. Unfortunately... they really couldn’t do that with the ways in which the book showed its age. Products of their time and all, but I can’t in good conscience unreservedly recommend a book that made me wince every other page at times either for racism or creepery.
Tl;dr: you know these late-afternoon crime shows where you don’t care much about the cases but you do care about the protagonists being a bickering old couple? A well-done version of this as a book... except for the racism and the creepiness.
Tl;dr: you know these late-afternoon crime shows where you don’t care much about the cases but you do care about the protagonists being a bickering old couple? A well-done version of this as a book... except for the racism and the creepiness.
September 25, 2022
Anovella set in 1912 when Mortimer Fenley, a celebrated and wealthy financier, is shot on the doorstep of his English estate near Roxton just outside of London. The house hold consists of two brothers and the daughter of Mortimer's deceased business partner put into his care. It is the elder brother who calls in Scotland Yard.
Also involved in the mystery is an upcoming artist, John Trenholme, who has been commissioned to do a few nature pictures of the area who is a witness (he hears a rife shot, but not aware it is the murder shot).
Also involved in the mystery is an upcoming artist, John Trenholme, who has been commissioned to do a few nature pictures of the area who is a witness (he hears a rife shot, but not aware it is the murder shot).
September 12, 2021
Entertaining listening 🔰😀
Another will written romantic thriller adventure mystery novella by Louis Tracy with lots of interesting will developed characters. The story line is set in Great Britain where a murder takes place at the manor. Scotland Yard is called in an the mystery begins. The detectives are at odds as too who the killer is. I would recommend this novella to readers of British Mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening to books 📚 2021🏰⛲
Another will written romantic thriller adventure mystery novella by Louis Tracy with lots of interesting will developed characters. The story line is set in Great Britain where a murder takes place at the manor. Scotland Yard is called in an the mystery begins. The detectives are at odds as too who the killer is. I would recommend this novella to readers of British Mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening to books 📚 2021🏰⛲
July 5, 2021
An excellent novel with a detailed believable plot and characterization that one is drawn into. This writing style is typical of the time period from 1880 through 1930 and includes detailed descriptions and often social stratification is an important plot tool. The end is tied up a bit too promptly with every loose end accounted for but the author is still a master at his trade. Recommended
August 16, 2023
A pretty standard country-house murder, with a side-order of romance. Lacking in suspects, which means whodunnit is obvious quite early on, though of course the problem is proving it.
August 29, 2021
I could have done without the casual racism, but otherwise I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, and the machinations of the detectives.
June 13, 2021
Mortimer Fenley is shot dead on the steps of his home, The Towers. But how and why. The eldest son calls in Scotland Yard to investigate.
An entertaining mystery
An entertaining mystery
July 14, 2014
If two detectives ever needed a TV series on PBS - it is Superintendent Winter and Mr. Furneaux. They are often referred to in London as "Big Un" and "Little Un" from the Yard - as in Scotland Yard. They are two very different men - one French and the other English, one is tall and strong while the other is a very slight man, and one looks like a policeman and the other looks like an artist. Together they are a formidable team and masterful in catching criminals. In this book published in 1919, the banker Mortimer Fenley has been murdered on his front door step. He has two sons who are also very different men and they are acting very suspicious. The sons are also in competition for the their father's young ward - a lovely woman who just happens to be very rich. The book concerns itself with solving not just the murder, but two crimes involving Mortimer Fenley. Louis Tracy explains the case with this quote, "... but seldom indeed do the Fates contrive that death and love and high adventure would be so closely bound". I can't sum up this book any clearer for any interested reader. Enjoy!
January 21, 2015
Set in 1912 in England this wonderful tale of murder captures you within the first sentence. Considering this book was published 100 years ago it still has the making of a good murder/mystery. Who would want to kill Mortimer Fenley a well known finance man from London. Well none other than... oh wait you didn't think I would tell you who the culprit was did you? But I will tell you this the Butler did not do it! LOL.
Reading this makes a point clear that in this age of new authors abound and ereaders making it easier to not only read but publish a book we should not forget the books that were written so long ago. So if you don't have an ereader or even if you do pull out that Library Card and check out a book that was written long ago for you may discover a new author that will bring you much pleasure.
Reading this makes a point clear that in this age of new authors abound and ereaders making it easier to not only read but publish a book we should not forget the books that were written so long ago. So if you don't have an ereader or even if you do pull out that Library Card and check out a book that was written long ago for you may discover a new author that will bring you much pleasure.
October 18, 2011
Less a whodunnit than a howdunnit - the 'who' and 'why' having been obvious from the start. Rather slight and with a romantic lead who disappears for a fair chunk of the book but still -- Furneaux and Winter. :)
June 27, 2016
Fun!
Delightful romp featuring the two estimable inspectors. Well drawn characters and some satisfying purple prose, a decent obvious plot and denouement all around if not much mystery.
Delightful romp featuring the two estimable inspectors. Well drawn characters and some satisfying purple prose, a decent obvious plot and denouement all around if not much mystery.
August 1, 2013
A mystery with an unsuspecting murderer, an unsurprising outcome and two awesome detectives. A worthy read to anyone who loves Sherlock Holmes and Dupin.
December 25, 2014
This is one of Tracy's several books about the two detectives from Scotland Yard. This, like the others is mostly okay.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews