Murder at Hendon Aerodrome

The Blind Detective #3

by A.C. Koning, Christina Koning

First published as Time of Flight under A. C. Koning.

1931. The craze for flying leaves Frederick Rowlands cold, but a chance encounter with a pilot opens up what he realises is a thrilling and dangerous world of aviation. However, amongst all the glitz and glamour, Fred finds himself tangled in a complex web of suspicion, betrayal and murder ...

321 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 22, 2023

Reviews

[Spad53 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Blind detective story, as good as ever, but this one was a bit special for me. The year was 1931 and the theme was aviation. It was a massive year for British aviation, the Schneider trophy, a competition for the fastest sea-plane, was at Calshot, and Britain won the trophy outright. General aviation was growing, with new planes coming out almost daily. This is my favorite epoch in aviation, aeroplanes were still pretty, and made by small companies. In this book you can learn the names of most of the planes of the day. Christine Koning has done a wonderful piece of research, name dropping the crème de la crème of British aviation, and weaving it into a delightful period detective story, with the unique twist of a blind detective. I loved it of course, but you don’t have to be a total aviation freak to enjoy it, it would have been a very well written detective story even without the flying.
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All the aviation details are spot-on right down to the serial number of the Schneider cup winner
She has though, rather elegantly moved the 1931 Kings Cup race from Heston to Hendon, which presumably keeps the story more logical.

Lots of lovely cars are mentioned, Lagonda, Bentley, Aston Martin, and even a Hispano-Suiza, guess who drives that one!
Motorcycle brands are sadly ignored, they are just motorbikes or “Infairnal machines” as the Chief inspector rightly calls them. In any case there is a misconception about motorbikes that you often see, this book included, you can’t just jump on a motorbike and ride away instantly, special clothes and headwear need to be donned, even in 1931, And another thing that hasn’t changed is they won’t start, especially, in 1931, when you had to kick-start them, just a note, but important in a story where timing means a lot.
I did work out who did it, I much prefer that to be possible, than turning everything into a nonsense for the sake of a last minute twist. So many detective series on TV are spoiled by trying to keep up the suspense by introducing new suspects, and other tricks. Christina Koning keeps it fairly simple, and yes I’d love to see it on TV.
I started reading this series because I saw this title, the third book, but you need to start at the beginning to understand everything going on. I’ve enjoyed the series a lot and will continue reading it, but I doubt if it can get any better than this.
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Photos are by me, and depict a de Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth, not a Gypsy Moth as Captain Percival flew, but they are very similar. If you want to see a really nice Gypsy Moth, there’s one in the film Out of Africa.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

All over I thought this was a bit forced, constant reminders of the detective's blindness and how he copes. And pointing repeatedly to the era in which it was set - all just seemed too obvious. A good author makes these things happen without you realising. It to a long time for the first crime to be committed and then they just kept coming! AND I guessed who the murderer was long before the end!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent cosy mystery story with more than a whiff of the Golden Age about it. A taught plot and interesting characters, and a nice twist in the denouement. I did guess it, but only by using detective fiction rules of thumb rather than sifting and assessing the evidence.

[Scilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frederick Rowlands, who was blinded during WWI has a job with St. Dunstan's, an agency that tries to help those blinded during the war. He has lined up a trip to Hendon Aerodrome for the St. Dunstan's men as well as his 3 children. He goes for a tour ahead when a famous aviator, Percival is coming in from Australia. When he returns home, he finds his sister Dorothy and her son who have returned from Argentina after her husband died.

Percival is a womanizer, is enamored by Dorothy, and invites them all to come for a ride in his plane. Soon, one of the men who works on planes is found dead in the hanger as Rowlands is approaching the hanger. When a plane suddenly crashes, it is found that the plane has been tampered with. Then, Rowlands finds a dead body. Finally, at a party which Rowlands is attending, the hostess is almost killed. Chief Douglas who has worked with Rowlands is sure the four deaths are related, but isn't quite sure how. Rowlands is an excellent listener, even though he can't see very much, and he continues to mull things over and talks occasionally with Chief Douglas. Finally Rowlands realizes who is responsible for the deaths, (someone I wasn't suspecting!) and tells Douglas.

Frederick Rowlands is a great character, and the book was clever and exciting. I thank Netgalley and Allyson & Busby for an ARC . The opinions stated here are my own.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number 3 in the 'blind detective series'. I have now read 3, but not in order. Number 8, Murder at Bletchley Park & Number 2, Murder in Regent's Park. The other books were stand-alone novels, but readers of Murder at Hendon Aerodrome would benefit from reading the original Blind Detective novel. A v pleasant cosy murder novel, just like the others I have read in the series. Very interesting inter war backdrop. Spiffing upper class feature in this novel. A very engaging page turning read!

[Anjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the next book almost immediately after the first. Although it is the third in the series (according to the listing), it does make sense to read it back to back because some of the other characters not only recur but impact the flow of the story as a whole. I did not feel like I missed anything storywise in the middle. It has been four years since our protagonist got himself involved with the police while trying to help a woman he had become infatuated with (however unwise it all was). Planes have now become the new big thing, and the author does a great job of talking about what it would have looked like at the time. The people closer to the war were more interested in the outcome because of the repercussions it might have the next time around when the country has to fight. Rowlands is now part of the blind war veteran federation, and in that capacity he is taking a group of them to an air show.
I would not recommend reading this without having read the first because of the weight that it has on this story. The author explains the struggle Rowlands has to go through to get to this point, but all the previous investigation and the fears that come with it are a deep part of him. The fears all come true when a man is found dead in the aerodrome the second time he is there. He is once again involved in this story as he tries to clear yet another woman in this situation.
I actually liked the mystery of this story more than the previous one, but I guessed the culprit quite early on.
The ethical fights within our protagonist's head and the number of people who seek him out form the bulk of the story. Although I was happy to spend so much time with his family, all of that had more of a presence than the actual investigation.
It felt more like a borderline thriller than a mystery, with an unknown, invisible culprit hiding just behind Rowlands taking advantage of the latter's lack of sight. Most of the characters have multiple facets to them, and they keep showing off a different side to them, confusing the other people who are trying to pin them down.
I would recommend this book and the series to those readers who like a more immersive approach to their historical mysteries.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

[Laurie K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written mystery strengthened by vivid historical background. A bit slow at the start, but once murder occurs the narrative speeds up. Koning also uses lots of misdirection to keep the reader guessing. Unfortunately, I found my interest waning well before the end. There is one significant highlight though. The lead protagonist, Frederick Rowlands, makes for an unusual, not always likable, but very effective investigator.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent series with a viviv and well researched historical background, a clever and unusual main character and solid mysteries that keep me guessing.
I loved this one as I loved the first one. It's better read them in order.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Bette Lentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder uncovered by blind man.

This novel chronicles post WWI airplanes and the casualties of the war. Post war London and environs are the setting. The blind man who's perceptions ultimately solve the case is interesting and well developed.