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Los rojos Redmayne
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330 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1922
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About the author
Eden Phillpotts
544 books21 followersSee also: Harrington Hext
Eden Philpotts was an English novelist, short-story writer, and playwright with a particular interest in the county of Devon. His works include a cycle of 18 novels set in Dartmoor.
Eden Philpotts was an English novelist, short-story writer, and playwright with a particular interest in the county of Devon. His works include a cycle of 18 novels set in Dartmoor.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 30, 2019
Blinded by love...
Inspector Mark Brendon is on a fishing holiday in Dartmoor when he first spots the lovely, ethereal, auburn-haired Jenny Pendean and falls instantly in love. Lucky for him, then, that she is promptly widowed, providing him with both a mystery to solve and a woman to woo. Less lucky for her husband, Michael. Jenny’s grandfather was a rich man and had left her a legacy, but only on condition that one of her three uncles approved her marriage. None of the three approved of Michael, though, in part because he wasn’t from the right class, but also because he managed to escape serving in the armed forces during WW1 (not bone spurs – a minor heart condition). However recently Uncle Robert had reached out to the young couple and seemed ready to accept Michael. But one night, after Robert and Michael had been working alone on the house Michael was building, neither man returns. The next day all that is found on the site is a pool of blood and signs of a body having been dragged away. Sightings of Robert making off on his motorcycle leave little doubt that he had killed Michael, probably in a fit of madness brought on by the shell-shock he had suffered in the war. Jenny begs Mark to find Robert...
This was first published in 1922 at the earliest stages of the Golden Age and, perhaps because of that, doesn’t follow the format that later became recognisable as the traditional mystery novel. It’s a bit rambling in parts, takes place over a period of more than a year, and the dénouement comes a few chapters before the end, followed by lengthy explanations and a round up of what happens to the surviving characters in their futures. It feels looser and not as well plotted as many of the later GA mysteries, though oddly I felt it was a good deal darker and more psychologically twisted than most of them too. I found a lot to enjoy in it, though I would have enjoyed it more had it been tighter and a bit more pacey.
The first half takes place on Dartmoor and then on the weather-beaten coast of Devon, and Phillpotts uses these bleak landscapes effectively to create an atmosphere of impending doom. It transpires that Michael was merely the first victim – the murderer seems to want to destroy the remaining Redmaynes too, though no-one can understand his motives. In the second half, Jenny visits her uncle Albert at his home in Italy – again a well realised location – and when danger seems again to draw near, Albert reaches out to both Inspector Brendon and to Albert’s American friend, Peter Ganns, who happens to be a great detective. (Naturally, in such circumstances, one cannot put one’s faith in the Italian police, because after all they’re foreigners...)
This is another aspect of the book which makes it different from the standard – it appears as if Mark is going to be the central detective in the first half, but then, admittedly after Mark has proved his incompetence several times over, Ganns becomes the main man. And it’s he who will finally unravel the mystery. He’s hampered by having to rely on Mark as his sidekick, since Mark is so in love with Jenny his brain has turned to mush. Ganns points this out to him, but still Mark allows himself to get distracted at crucial moments. (One wonders if the Italian police could really have been less competent than the British and American ones...) Ganns is fun, in that I did wonder if Phillpotts had ever actually met an American or if he created the entire portrayal based on characters in pulp fiction of the day. Ganns seems to be a well educated, cultured man but sometimes slips into the kind of wise-guy speech of the fictional American PI or gangster, such as referring to women as “dames”. But he’s psychologically astute, which is more than can be said for poor Mark.
I had a reasonably good idea of the solution from fairly early on, although I was a bit baffled as to motive. And when the dénouement came and all was explained, it felt much more modern than I was expecting – definitely heading towards psychological thriller territory, which surprised me for a book from this early, and added considerably to the interest level.
Overall, then, despite some weaknesses and an odd format, I enjoyed this. The settings are particularly well done and I found aspects of it pretty original, especially for the time. Another author I’d be happy to meet again.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Inspector Mark Brendon is on a fishing holiday in Dartmoor when he first spots the lovely, ethereal, auburn-haired Jenny Pendean and falls instantly in love. Lucky for him, then, that she is promptly widowed, providing him with both a mystery to solve and a woman to woo. Less lucky for her husband, Michael. Jenny’s grandfather was a rich man and had left her a legacy, but only on condition that one of her three uncles approved her marriage. None of the three approved of Michael, though, in part because he wasn’t from the right class, but also because he managed to escape serving in the armed forces during WW1 (not bone spurs – a minor heart condition). However recently Uncle Robert had reached out to the young couple and seemed ready to accept Michael. But one night, after Robert and Michael had been working alone on the house Michael was building, neither man returns. The next day all that is found on the site is a pool of blood and signs of a body having been dragged away. Sightings of Robert making off on his motorcycle leave little doubt that he had killed Michael, probably in a fit of madness brought on by the shell-shock he had suffered in the war. Jenny begs Mark to find Robert...
This was first published in 1922 at the earliest stages of the Golden Age and, perhaps because of that, doesn’t follow the format that later became recognisable as the traditional mystery novel. It’s a bit rambling in parts, takes place over a period of more than a year, and the dénouement comes a few chapters before the end, followed by lengthy explanations and a round up of what happens to the surviving characters in their futures. It feels looser and not as well plotted as many of the later GA mysteries, though oddly I felt it was a good deal darker and more psychologically twisted than most of them too. I found a lot to enjoy in it, though I would have enjoyed it more had it been tighter and a bit more pacey.
The first half takes place on Dartmoor and then on the weather-beaten coast of Devon, and Phillpotts uses these bleak landscapes effectively to create an atmosphere of impending doom. It transpires that Michael was merely the first victim – the murderer seems to want to destroy the remaining Redmaynes too, though no-one can understand his motives. In the second half, Jenny visits her uncle Albert at his home in Italy – again a well realised location – and when danger seems again to draw near, Albert reaches out to both Inspector Brendon and to Albert’s American friend, Peter Ganns, who happens to be a great detective. (Naturally, in such circumstances, one cannot put one’s faith in the Italian police, because after all they’re foreigners...)
This is another aspect of the book which makes it different from the standard – it appears as if Mark is going to be the central detective in the first half, but then, admittedly after Mark has proved his incompetence several times over, Ganns becomes the main man. And it’s he who will finally unravel the mystery. He’s hampered by having to rely on Mark as his sidekick, since Mark is so in love with Jenny his brain has turned to mush. Ganns points this out to him, but still Mark allows himself to get distracted at crucial moments. (One wonders if the Italian police could really have been less competent than the British and American ones...) Ganns is fun, in that I did wonder if Phillpotts had ever actually met an American or if he created the entire portrayal based on characters in pulp fiction of the day. Ganns seems to be a well educated, cultured man but sometimes slips into the kind of wise-guy speech of the fictional American PI or gangster, such as referring to women as “dames”. But he’s psychologically astute, which is more than can be said for poor Mark.
I had a reasonably good idea of the solution from fairly early on, although I was a bit baffled as to motive. And when the dénouement came and all was explained, it felt much more modern than I was expecting – definitely heading towards psychological thriller territory, which surprised me for a book from this early, and added considerably to the interest level.
Overall, then, despite some weaknesses and an odd format, I enjoyed this. The settings are particularly well done and I found aspects of it pretty original, especially for the time. Another author I’d be happy to meet again.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
June 17, 2019
Well, nothing like having to reread a book I read a month ago! Jeez.
http://www.crimesegments.com/2019/06/...
Right up front I'll say that there is absolutely nothing at all cozy or cute here - - this one is deliciously dark. It is anything but your standard 1920s British murder mystery, a rather bizarre story that follows a family of four brothers. A CID detective on his holiday suddenly finds himself in the middle of what appears to be a kidnapping and a murder. Not having come to Dartmoor "to catch murderers, but to catch trout," he is determined to stay out of things, until he is summoned by the victim's wife, Jenny Pendean, who had heard that he was in the area and now asks for his help. According to the local policeman, "it's all pretty plain sailing, by the look of it," but for Mark Brendon, it will be anything but, as he steps into one of the strangest mysteries of his career, one that will take him from Dartmoor to Cornwall to Italy and into the lives of the four Redmayne brothers, Jenny's uncles, one of whom has been accused of the crime. When Brendon has done all he can but things go south anyway, an American named Peter Ganns steps in to help. Gann's "strong suit," he notes, is his "linking up of facts," and he is only too quick to point out that Brendon had it all wrong from the start. While Brendon isn't exactly pleased at being told about his mistakes, time is of the essence and the two must work together to prevent another tragedy.
I had great fun with this one, yet it's not without its flaws, and the biggest one of all is that after a while it is only too easy to figure out what exactly is going on here. While there were several inner eyeroll moments, I will admit that this time around I didn't mind that so much -- the whole story is so very strange, and so out of the ordinary that it completely merits following it to its conclusion. It was also nice (although admittedly frustrating towards the end) to see a detective with his own flaws -- while Ganns seems larger than life at times, Brendon on the other hand is very much a person who is only too human.
The Red Redmaynes is a novel I can certainly recommend to readers who like their crime stories a bit more on the out-of-the-box, stranger side, and to diehard readers of mystery fiction from yesteryear. There will definitely be more Phillpotts novels coming to my shelves in the near future.
http://www.crimesegments.com/2019/06/...
Right up front I'll say that there is absolutely nothing at all cozy or cute here - - this one is deliciously dark. It is anything but your standard 1920s British murder mystery, a rather bizarre story that follows a family of four brothers. A CID detective on his holiday suddenly finds himself in the middle of what appears to be a kidnapping and a murder. Not having come to Dartmoor "to catch murderers, but to catch trout," he is determined to stay out of things, until he is summoned by the victim's wife, Jenny Pendean, who had heard that he was in the area and now asks for his help. According to the local policeman, "it's all pretty plain sailing, by the look of it," but for Mark Brendon, it will be anything but, as he steps into one of the strangest mysteries of his career, one that will take him from Dartmoor to Cornwall to Italy and into the lives of the four Redmayne brothers, Jenny's uncles, one of whom has been accused of the crime. When Brendon has done all he can but things go south anyway, an American named Peter Ganns steps in to help. Gann's "strong suit," he notes, is his "linking up of facts," and he is only too quick to point out that Brendon had it all wrong from the start. While Brendon isn't exactly pleased at being told about his mistakes, time is of the essence and the two must work together to prevent another tragedy.
I had great fun with this one, yet it's not without its flaws, and the biggest one of all is that after a while it is only too easy to figure out what exactly is going on here. While there were several inner eyeroll moments, I will admit that this time around I didn't mind that so much -- the whole story is so very strange, and so out of the ordinary that it completely merits following it to its conclusion. It was also nice (although admittedly frustrating towards the end) to see a detective with his own flaws -- while Ganns seems larger than life at times, Brendon on the other hand is very much a person who is only too human.
The Red Redmaynes is a novel I can certainly recommend to readers who like their crime stories a bit more on the out-of-the-box, stranger side, and to diehard readers of mystery fiction from yesteryear. There will definitely be more Phillpotts novels coming to my shelves in the near future.
February 19, 2015
Gran novela policial (NO es novela negra, es decir, es más el estilo de Agatha Christie que el estilo de Dashiel Hammet) Excelente intriga y curioso giro con el detective.
Vale la pena leer especialmente la traducción elegida por J.L.Borges para publicar en la colección "Mi biblioteca personal". Esta biblioteca merece seguirse. Si Borges era un gran escritor, fue aún más grande como lector. Si recomienda un libro, yo le prestaría atención.
Vale la pena leer especialmente la traducción elegida por J.L.Borges para publicar en la colección "Mi biblioteca personal". Esta biblioteca merece seguirse. Si Borges era un gran escritor, fue aún más grande como lector. Si recomienda un libro, yo le prestaría atención.
November 14, 2015
The Red Redmaynes is an atmospheric piece, set for the first half of the novel on the sinister, ominous landscape of Dartmoor. The bleak moorland and the beautiful Devon coastline emphasizes the gruesome story of the Redmayne family and the tragic way that its members die. Jenny, the youngest member of the Redmayne clan, marries Michael Pendean against the wishes of her three uncles. The uncles hold the Redmayne fortunes in their hands and can withhold Jenny's portion if they do not approve of her husband. The young couple attempt to win the gentleman over, but before they can find out if their efforts will bear fruit tragedy strikes.
Robert Redmayne, one of the uncles who has a history of violent temper, begins a relationship with his estranged niece and her husband and all seems to be going well until one evening when the two men are alone at the bungalow that Pendean is building for his wife. When morning comes both men are missing and a bloody bungalow gives evidence that a most heinous crime has taken place. Everyone believes that the "great red devil" (Robert) has done away with Pendean and Jenny calls upon Inspector Mark Brendon of Scotland Yard who is holidaying in the area to take up the case.
But, despite sporadic reports that Redmayne has been spotted, there are few clues and fewer leads. All signs point to Redmayne having gone mad and killed in an insane fury, but surely a madman would not be so difficult to track down. It doesn't help that Brendon is dazzled by the young widow and is not living up to his stellar reputation as a brilliant detective. Further deaths occur and it isn't until Albert Redmayne's friend Peter Ganns, a celebrated American detective, joins the hunt Italy (where Albert has lived for many years) that culprit is finally run to earth and the mystery is completely solved.
As a mystery connoisseur, there are many things to like about the novel. As mentioned, it is atmospheric and Phillpotts does the sinister undertones very well. It is also interesting historically because it one of the few, if not the only, mysteries with an American detective created by an English author. Phillpotts also provides an incredibly detailed look at both the mind of the detectives, the psychology of the protagonist, Brendon, specifically, and the personality and intellect of the culprit.
One of the features that detract from the novel is, to put it bluntly, Brendon's lovesick nature. He's the first career detective I've met (so to speak) to go so completely off the deep end in love during the course of an investigation and miss nearly every vital clue put it front of him. It's hard to believe that a man who was so dedicated to and exemplary in his job prior to the advent of Jenny Pendean could fall down on the job so thoroughly. Especially after having his short-comings pointed out quite plainly by the elder detective. I expected him to come to his senses at some point prior to the denouement. Alas. Another problem is its length. There are a great many descriptive passages, whether about the countryside or the characters, that just go on forever and could have been better served in quick summation rather than rambling prose. It makes the reader long to skip pages and perhaps miss something vital. Things move much more swiftly once Ganns is introduced. The quicker pace and more action-oriented scenes provide an ending which helps redeem the novel. It's not difficult to guess the culprit but a few of the finer details may escape all but the keenest eyes. Overall, an interesting entry in the annals of crime, though not one destined to be one of my all-time favorites.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Robert Redmayne, one of the uncles who has a history of violent temper, begins a relationship with his estranged niece and her husband and all seems to be going well until one evening when the two men are alone at the bungalow that Pendean is building for his wife. When morning comes both men are missing and a bloody bungalow gives evidence that a most heinous crime has taken place. Everyone believes that the "great red devil" (Robert) has done away with Pendean and Jenny calls upon Inspector Mark Brendon of Scotland Yard who is holidaying in the area to take up the case.
But, despite sporadic reports that Redmayne has been spotted, there are few clues and fewer leads. All signs point to Redmayne having gone mad and killed in an insane fury, but surely a madman would not be so difficult to track down. It doesn't help that Brendon is dazzled by the young widow and is not living up to his stellar reputation as a brilliant detective. Further deaths occur and it isn't until Albert Redmayne's friend Peter Ganns, a celebrated American detective, joins the hunt Italy (where Albert has lived for many years) that culprit is finally run to earth and the mystery is completely solved.
As a mystery connoisseur, there are many things to like about the novel. As mentioned, it is atmospheric and Phillpotts does the sinister undertones very well. It is also interesting historically because it one of the few, if not the only, mysteries with an American detective created by an English author. Phillpotts also provides an incredibly detailed look at both the mind of the detectives, the psychology of the protagonist, Brendon, specifically, and the personality and intellect of the culprit.
One of the features that detract from the novel is, to put it bluntly, Brendon's lovesick nature. He's the first career detective I've met (so to speak) to go so completely off the deep end in love during the course of an investigation and miss nearly every vital clue put it front of him. It's hard to believe that a man who was so dedicated to and exemplary in his job prior to the advent of Jenny Pendean could fall down on the job so thoroughly. Especially after having his short-comings pointed out quite plainly by the elder detective. I expected him to come to his senses at some point prior to the denouement. Alas. Another problem is its length. There are a great many descriptive passages, whether about the countryside or the characters, that just go on forever and could have been better served in quick summation rather than rambling prose. It makes the reader long to skip pages and perhaps miss something vital. Things move much more swiftly once Ganns is introduced. The quicker pace and more action-oriented scenes provide an ending which helps redeem the novel. It's not difficult to guess the culprit but a few of the finer details may escape all but the keenest eyes. Overall, an interesting entry in the annals of crime, though not one destined to be one of my all-time favorites.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
February 15, 2010
Perfectly good read, for what it is; nothing too special, but well enough done. Mostly, this author is notable for having encouraged young Agatha Christie to write, but this is worth a look if you run across it somewhere. It is about a hundred pages longer than it needs to be, though, unfortunately.
January 8, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. The setting is mostly on Dartmoor in Devon which is an area much loved by Phillpotts. Very atmospheric. An unusual situation in that the British Scotland Yard Detective is joined on the case by a famous American Detective. The action moves to Italy for a while and then back to Devon. Quite a convoluted plot which is difficult to describe without giving the game away. Typical stilted language of the 1920's but none the worse for that. Eden Phillpotts is quite unjustly underrated these days. Recommended !!
February 20, 2016
I read this a few years ago, and today while reading some essay about detective novel and thinking about a couple of early Poirot when I remembered the story of this novel. For a long time I couldn't remember the name of the book, but finally a bit of luck lead me to this again.
I probably read it because of the Borges recommendation, and it is worth the time you spend.
It is available from Project Gutenberg if you want to try it.
I probably read it because of the Borges recommendation, and it is worth the time you spend.
It is available from Project Gutenberg if you want to try it.
November 28, 2021
No. It’s SO DULL! Sometimes that’s ok, if you’re in the mood, or snowbound, or trapped under something heavy; but this time, no. You will be amazed that it was written in 1922, not 1822. If you stay awake that long.
March 22, 2019
Sin duda es una obra bien lograda para el género policiaco, siendo la viva expresión de esas investigaciones a la antigua. Qué se llevaban acabo el ventanas de tiempo amplias y que conllevan detalles que naturalmente obviamos.
Para ser sincero me llevo un buen tiempo el terminarlo, y no porque sea malo el libro o tal vez lento. Lo sentí fue como algo más complejo de lo que había leído, puesto que es mi primer novela policial de toque clásico, entonces adaptarse al género es algo que siempre me cuesta, y más aún un género que me gusta analizar muchísimo. Pero con todo lleno mis espectativas y lo volvería a leer para encontrar pequeños detalles. Aunque la novela en su final es muy disiente en todo lo que pasa, pues para no dejar vacíos argumentales o imposibilidades. Lo cual es muy casual en novelas de este tipo de corte moderno.
Cómo conclusión puedo decir que es un buen libro y lo recomiendo para aquellos que les gusta el misterio a la clásica y con inteligencia.
Para ser sincero me llevo un buen tiempo el terminarlo, y no porque sea malo el libro o tal vez lento. Lo sentí fue como algo más complejo de lo que había leído, puesto que es mi primer novela policial de toque clásico, entonces adaptarse al género es algo que siempre me cuesta, y más aún un género que me gusta analizar muchísimo. Pero con todo lleno mis espectativas y lo volvería a leer para encontrar pequeños detalles. Aunque la novela en su final es muy disiente en todo lo que pasa, pues para no dejar vacíos argumentales o imposibilidades. Lo cual es muy casual en novelas de este tipo de corte moderno.
Cómo conclusión puedo decir que es un buen libro y lo recomiendo para aquellos que les gusta el misterio a la clásica y con inteligencia.
January 17, 2019
Dificilmente pueda olvidar este libro. Del principio hasta el excelente y cinematográfico final, se mantiene la tensión y la incertidumbre; el ritmo no decae en ningún momento y siempre es agradable y llevadera la prosa de Phillpotts, y por momentos, brillante. El dibujo de los personajes, tal como el comportamiento y los sentimientos de cada uno de ellos, demuestra una gran capacidad para expresar su conocimiento del alma humana, con todas sus extravagancias, sus amores y odios, miserias y grandezas. La descripción de los paisajes tiene momentos de notable belleza. Y como he dicho antes, el final es estupendo y muy visual, casi cinematográfico. No se la pierdan. Los rojos Redmayne es genial, entretenida y está escrita por un maestro del género, conocedor de los abismos insondables, oscuros y laberínticos del alma y sus bellezas superficiales.
August 14, 2017
The Red Redmaynes is well-written, the sort of book whose style and language makes the journey to the plot's resolution a delightful one. The plot itself is complex, with red herrings and clues to pick over.
September 3, 2020
Para Borges, era la mejor novela policiaca que se había escrito....
July 21, 2020
Edogawa Rampo was Japan's greatest horror and detective fiction author. It is interesting to check out what his favorite mysteries were. In "Geneijo" 幻影城〈江戸川乱歩全集 第26巻〉, a collection of essays in which his postwar writings on crime novels were collected, he has published a list of his “ten best” mystery novels (dating from 1947). Although this selection is heavily focused on the Golden Age detectives (not so strange, as due to the war, Japan had been cut off from new foreign fiction from the late-1930s on), it does give some insight into which novels exerted influence on Japanese mystery writers. To my surprise at the top of his list I found a book I had never heard of, "The Red Redmaynes" by Eden Philpotts.
I learned from Wikipedia that the author Eden Philpotts was a fertile writer who produced more than 250 books of fiction, plays and poetry in a very long life. Many of his novels are so-called “regional novels” set in Devonshire / Dartmoor, but he also wrote in the mystery and fantasy genres.
"The Red Redmaynes" (named after a family in which three brothers all have flaming red hair) is novel of identity and impersonation, as Ranpo himself loved, for example his The Black Lizard / Beast in the Shadows. Half set in Dartmoor and half at Lake Como, it is an atmospheric novel with a dark psychology.
There are two detectives, one from Scotland Yard and, in the second half, also a very experienced sleuth from the New World, who demonstrates to the Brit what he is doing wrong: most of all, falling in love with one of the characters concerned and so losing his neutrality.
The book is a bit long in places, such as in the explanation at the end, but doesn't at all deserve the total oblivion in which it has fallen, on the contrary.
Ranpo also made an adaptation of it, published as "The Demon in Green" (緑衣の鬼〈江戸川乱歩文庫〉, Ryokui no Oni, 1936).
P.S. Another fan of this novel was Jorge Luis Borges.
Check out my blog https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/.
I learned from Wikipedia that the author Eden Philpotts was a fertile writer who produced more than 250 books of fiction, plays and poetry in a very long life. Many of his novels are so-called “regional novels” set in Devonshire / Dartmoor, but he also wrote in the mystery and fantasy genres.
"The Red Redmaynes" (named after a family in which three brothers all have flaming red hair) is novel of identity and impersonation, as Ranpo himself loved, for example his The Black Lizard / Beast in the Shadows. Half set in Dartmoor and half at Lake Como, it is an atmospheric novel with a dark psychology.
There are two detectives, one from Scotland Yard and, in the second half, also a very experienced sleuth from the New World, who demonstrates to the Brit what he is doing wrong: most of all, falling in love with one of the characters concerned and so losing his neutrality.
The book is a bit long in places, such as in the explanation at the end, but doesn't at all deserve the total oblivion in which it has fallen, on the contrary.
Ranpo also made an adaptation of it, published as "The Demon in Green" (緑衣の鬼〈江戸川乱歩文庫〉, Ryokui no Oni, 1936).
P.S. Another fan of this novel was Jorge Luis Borges.
Check out my blog https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/.
June 21, 2025
I read this book after it was mentioned in Nine Puzzles, a current kdrama murder mystery that plays with classic murder mystery tropes. I think the main character obsessed with classic mysteries even referred to it as a masterpiece.
Anyway, it’s ok. It was written in 1922, and the language and plotting is a lot stodgier than I was expecting. All the characters speak in the same elevated, formal language as the narrator even though they’re supposedly from different countries and classes.
This made more sense once I realized the setting was post WWI not WWII. (I did wonder a bit when the action shifts to Italy with so little bother.)
We get 2 detectives: a rather hapless mid career Scotland Yard man and an extravagant, more experienced Poirot-esque genius from America who cracks the case at the end with his “third eye.”
Anyway, the mystery is not all that surprising. If you’re paying attention, the author telegraphs the solution in the very first chapter. Ultimately, it’s an implausible tall tale built around unreal, larger-than-life villains and smaller-than-life victims that could only occur in golden age murder mysteries and their homages.
Still fun.
Anyway, it’s ok. It was written in 1922, and the language and plotting is a lot stodgier than I was expecting. All the characters speak in the same elevated, formal language as the narrator even though they’re supposedly from different countries and classes.
This made more sense once I realized the setting was post WWI not WWII. (I did wonder a bit when the action shifts to Italy with so little bother.)
We get 2 detectives: a rather hapless mid career Scotland Yard man and an extravagant, more experienced Poirot-esque genius from America who cracks the case at the end with his “third eye.”
Anyway, the mystery is not all that surprising. If you’re paying attention, the author telegraphs the solution in the very first chapter. Ultimately, it’s an implausible tall tale built around unreal, larger-than-life villains and smaller-than-life victims that could only occur in golden age murder mysteries and their homages.
Still fun.
May 4, 2024
Competently done mystery with a frustrating ending. Not just because Albert Redmayne died, but because his death was so avoidable. Yes, Brendon was a chump of the solid-gold-watch-for-a-dollar variety, but Ganns could have done more to prepare him. Ganns blames himself for trusting Brendon to watch over Albert, but what he should have blamed himself for was not trusting Brendon enough. If he had told him what he suspected about Jenny and Doria, instead of being so mysterious—before leaving him unwary and alone with two people who have already tried to kill him—maybe Brendon wouldn't have been such a sap. Phillpotts obviously structured the story that way to preserve his big reveal (which was an effective surprise) but it still bothered me that Brendon paid a heavy price for his failure, while Ganns came out smelling like a rose with not even one person pointing out his share of the blame. Still, an interesting and unusual mystery.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2021
Phillpotts is chiefly remembered for encouraging his Torquary, England neighbor, Agatha Miller (later Christie) in her mystery writings. His books, written in the 1920s, use a Devonshire setting. This one, initially set in Dartmoor and incorporating the Devon coastline, also has later actions at Lake Como in Italy. It reminds me a bit of Mary Braddon's 1862 Lady Audley's Secret in that the characters' motivations are over the top, there is talk of insanity, and a red-headed woman is at the center of the mystery.
In this novel, the point of view is that of a British detective who has to be bailed out of the confusing situation by a snuff-taking, overweight American, a rather unusual plotline for a British author.
In this novel, the point of view is that of a British detective who has to be bailed out of the confusing situation by a snuff-taking, overweight American, a rather unusual plotline for a British author.
December 20, 2024
One of great early mystery novels with twisted characters and non super human detectives.
Mark Brendon is a detective of new Scotland Yard and he was requested to investigate the murder of Michael Pendean. The murder suspect Robert Redmayne disappeared. Michael’s wife Jenny is the niece of the Redmayne brothers Albert, Benito and Robert. Apparently the suspected motive is also not very strong. More mystery and more murders follow pretty soon as if some criminal mastermind is carrying on all the plots and he is always one step ahead.
Published in 1922 and the writing style is atmospheric like a gothic tale. The mystery aspect is pretty good with a good ending.
Mark Brendon is a detective of new Scotland Yard and he was requested to investigate the murder of Michael Pendean. The murder suspect Robert Redmayne disappeared. Michael’s wife Jenny is the niece of the Redmayne brothers Albert, Benito and Robert. Apparently the suspected motive is also not very strong. More mystery and more murders follow pretty soon as if some criminal mastermind is carrying on all the plots and he is always one step ahead.
Published in 1922 and the writing style is atmospheric like a gothic tale. The mystery aspect is pretty good with a good ending.
October 14, 2025
Inteligente trama, me mantuvo interesado todo el libro. Me gusta el old style de estos libros de detective y misterio. Gran descubrimiento , ya habia leido otro libro de Eden Phillipotts y debo decir que me encanta este autor.
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November 18, 2019Awful, cheap, tacky and oh so nasty about mental health utterly ridiculous and all the characters are just appalling. I had to skim read it and got more sense out of that then properly reading it.
December 9, 2020
Even though I kind of guessed who the real culprit was, there were still some surprises in store for me.
A delightful and dark murder mystery.
A delightful and dark murder mystery.
Want to read
May 13, 2025Synopsis: it's all about the Redmayne family who live near the moors of Dartmoor. And the tragedies that seem to confront them regularly.
August 5, 2012
It was a good mystery, but more so for its historic interest in the mystery genre. It's supposed to have the only American detective by a British author (according to the blurb on the Dover cover). But the American detective doesn't make a showing until page 196 of 384 pages. That's for a reason, but the wind-up is still a little slow. But it must be somewhat distinctive for that structure: how many mysteries delay the arrival of the "real" detective until half-way through the book? I guess it's no surprise that the second half is more engaging.
June 12, 2009
Fun book, but I guessed the killer from the beginning of the story, so not a very mysterious mystery.
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