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Scott Egerton #1
The Tragedy at Freyne: A Golden Age English Country House Murder Mystery
When Sir Simon Chandos is found poisoned in his library, with a confession in front of him and a phial of morphia tablets on the table at his side, suicide is the obvious deduction. This is a dreadful shock to the members of the house party gathered in his picturesque old Norman country house, Freyne Abbey. But the discovery of a trivial discrepancy, by one of the guests, turns the suspicion in the direction of murder, and from that slight clue the amateur detective, Scott Egerton, unravels the web of an exceptionally brilliant and cold-blooded plot…
About the Author
Anthony Gilbert was one of four pseudonyms adopted by Lucy Beatrice Malleson, the English novelist who wrote over seventy detective and crime novels between 1925 and 1972. From the age of seventeen, she wrote verse and short pieces for Punch and various literary weeklies. Her first crime novel The Man Who Was London was published in 1925 under the name of J. Kilmeny Keith. She also wrote as Anne Meredith and Lucy Egerton. Malleson settled on the Anthony Gilbert pen name for her most popular literary creation, earthy, pugnacious, Cockney lawyer-detective Arthur G. Crook, who starred in over fifty novels. She was an early member of the prestigious Detection Club. She valued her privacy and for many years successfully concealed her identity as the writer of the Gilbert novels, even publishing her memoir, Three-a-Penny , under a pseudonym. It was recently reissued under her real name and was a BBC Radio 4 ‘Book of the Week’. She lived most of her life in London and never married. She died in 1973.
Praise for Anthony Gilbert
‘Unquestionably a most intelligent author. Gifts of ingenuity, style and character drawing’
The Sunday Times
‘Arthur Crook is a lawyer-sleuth worth meeting’
New York Times
‘His stories, like his detective, Mr Crook, have vitality with decent and credible characters and, detection-wise, fair play’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Careful in craftsmanship, scrupulously fair, more than well-written, Anthony Gilbert’s novels show the unsensational type of detective story at its best’
The Daily Telegraph
‘Anthony Gilbert is a master not only of the craft of the crime story, but also of the creation of character and atmosphere’
Irish Independent
‘Mr Gilbert writes extremely well’
E.C. Bentley
‘Anthony Gilbert has real descriptive power’
E.R. Punshon
About the Author
Anthony Gilbert was one of four pseudonyms adopted by Lucy Beatrice Malleson, the English novelist who wrote over seventy detective and crime novels between 1925 and 1972. From the age of seventeen, she wrote verse and short pieces for Punch and various literary weeklies. Her first crime novel The Man Who Was London was published in 1925 under the name of J. Kilmeny Keith. She also wrote as Anne Meredith and Lucy Egerton. Malleson settled on the Anthony Gilbert pen name for her most popular literary creation, earthy, pugnacious, Cockney lawyer-detective Arthur G. Crook, who starred in over fifty novels. She was an early member of the prestigious Detection Club. She valued her privacy and for many years successfully concealed her identity as the writer of the Gilbert novels, even publishing her memoir, Three-a-Penny , under a pseudonym. It was recently reissued under her real name and was a BBC Radio 4 ‘Book of the Week’. She lived most of her life in London and never married. She died in 1973.
Praise for Anthony Gilbert
‘Unquestionably a most intelligent author. Gifts of ingenuity, style and character drawing’
The Sunday Times
‘Arthur Crook is a lawyer-sleuth worth meeting’
New York Times
‘His stories, like his detective, Mr Crook, have vitality with decent and credible characters and, detection-wise, fair play’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Careful in craftsmanship, scrupulously fair, more than well-written, Anthony Gilbert’s novels show the unsensational type of detective story at its best’
The Daily Telegraph
‘Anthony Gilbert is a master not only of the craft of the crime story, but also of the creation of character and atmosphere’
Irish Independent
‘Mr Gilbert writes extremely well’
E.C. Bentley
‘Anthony Gilbert has real descriptive power’
E.R. Punshon
210 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
116 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Gilbert
133 books38 followersAnthony Gilbert was the pen name of
Lucy Malleson
an English crime writer. She also wrote non-genre fiction as
Anne Meredith
, under which name she also published one crime novel. She also wrote an autobiography under the Meredith name, Three-a-Penny (1940).
Her parents wanted her to be a schoolteacher but she was determined to become a writer. Her first mystery novel followed a visit to the theatre when she saw The Cat and the Canary then, Tragedy at Freyne, featuring Scott Egerton who later appeared in 10 novels, was published in 1927.
She adopted the pseudonym Anthony Gilbert to publish detective novels which achieved great success and made her a name in British detective literature, although many of her readers had always believed that they were reading a male author. She went on to publish 69 crime novels, 51 of which featured her best known character, Arthur Crook. She also wrote more than 25 radio plays, which were broadcast in Great Britain and overseas.
Crook is a vulgar London lawyer totally (and deliberately) unlike the aristocratic detectives who dominated the mystery field when Gilbert introduced him, such as Lord Peter Wimsey.
Instead of dispassionately analyzing a case, he usually enters it after seemingly damning evidence has built up against his client, then conducts a no-holds-barred investigation of doubtful ethicality to clear him or her.
The first Crook novel, Murder by Experts, was published in 1936 and was immediately popular. The last Crook novel, A Nice Little Killing, was published in 1974.
Her thriller The Woman in Red (1941) was broadcast in the United States by CBS and made into a film in 1945 under the title My Name is Julia Ross. She never married, and evidence of her feminism is elegantly expressed in much of her work.
Her parents wanted her to be a schoolteacher but she was determined to become a writer. Her first mystery novel followed a visit to the theatre when she saw The Cat and the Canary then, Tragedy at Freyne, featuring Scott Egerton who later appeared in 10 novels, was published in 1927.
She adopted the pseudonym Anthony Gilbert to publish detective novels which achieved great success and made her a name in British detective literature, although many of her readers had always believed that they were reading a male author. She went on to publish 69 crime novels, 51 of which featured her best known character, Arthur Crook. She also wrote more than 25 radio plays, which were broadcast in Great Britain and overseas.
Crook is a vulgar London lawyer totally (and deliberately) unlike the aristocratic detectives who dominated the mystery field when Gilbert introduced him, such as Lord Peter Wimsey.
Instead of dispassionately analyzing a case, he usually enters it after seemingly damning evidence has built up against his client, then conducts a no-holds-barred investigation of doubtful ethicality to clear him or her.
The first Crook novel, Murder by Experts, was published in 1936 and was immediately popular. The last Crook novel, A Nice Little Killing, was published in 1974.
Her thriller The Woman in Red (1941) was broadcast in the United States by CBS and made into a film in 1945 under the title My Name is Julia Ross. She never married, and evidence of her feminism is elegantly expressed in much of her work.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 25, 2025
This “tragedy” (not exactly) is a good example of early golden age of detection, the type of book Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers mined for gold. I think this author (also a woman but writing under the pen name of Anthony Gilbert) was right in there. This was published in 1927 but keeps a touch of the Victorian. Dialog can be very purplish and in spite of the female author can be really negative with women characters. There is no one detective such as a Poirot. The person you think is going to be the detective ends up passing the job to others including an aristocratic amateur, Scotland Yard and people in the legal profession who use private detectives with disguises and accents a la Sherlock Holmes.
The book is partly set in a country house, partly in London and even a bit in Dover. In the house you get a “locked room” type murder and plenty of misdirection. After that is out of the way the author continues to lead you this way and that with a pretty good plot. I miss the sly humor and wit of a Christie or Sayers book. Good but I feel like it was just a start from a not very well known or forgotten author.
The book is partly set in a country house, partly in London and even a bit in Dover. In the house you get a “locked room” type murder and plenty of misdirection. After that is out of the way the author continues to lead you this way and that with a pretty good plot. I miss the sly humor and wit of a Christie or Sayers book. Good but I feel like it was just a start from a not very well known or forgotten author.
October 7, 2024
The Tragedy at Freyne, written in 1927, was one of the better golden age mysteries I have read lately. There were some definite twists and a character or two that surprised me. The novel did get bogged down a little with trying to keep up with letters, carbon copies and blackmail but it righted itself in the end.
June 19, 2023
If you’ve never heard of Anthony Gilbert, don’t feel bad; neither had I. Gilbert was just one of scores of writers contributing to the “golden age of detective fiction” a century ago. I am of course familiar with Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers and Mary Roberts Rinehart and a handful of other members of the murder-mystery movement, but like so many writers of that era, Anthony Gilbert has faded into obscurity.
"The Tragedy at Freyne" is typical of its genre. A celebrated artist apparently commits suicide at his secluded British estate, and there are murder suspects galore. If you read old mysteries, you can predict most of what follows.
Gilbert’s story does have someone filling the usual protagonist role, a la Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, but he’s not particularly memorable. Where Gilbert shines is in the portrayal of female characters — particularly women with dark secrets.
That shouldn’t be too surprising. “Anthony Gilbert” was, in fact, a pen name used by Lucy Beatrice Malleson, a prolific English writer responsible for more than 60 crime novels. -- grouchyeditor.com
"The Tragedy at Freyne" is typical of its genre. A celebrated artist apparently commits suicide at his secluded British estate, and there are murder suspects galore. If you read old mysteries, you can predict most of what follows.
Gilbert’s story does have someone filling the usual protagonist role, a la Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, but he’s not particularly memorable. Where Gilbert shines is in the portrayal of female characters — particularly women with dark secrets.
That shouldn’t be too surprising. “Anthony Gilbert” was, in fact, a pen name used by Lucy Beatrice Malleson, a prolific English writer responsible for more than 60 crime novels. -- grouchyeditor.com
April 29, 2023
This is from the golden age of British mysteries. I’m giving it 4 stars for the ingenious plot, with its twists and turns. But it definitely is of its time, and there are many, many sweeping statements about women that are pretty obnoxious, as well as outmoded psychological and medical theories. It’s a great glimpse into another world that I am thrilled I don’t live in.
October 30, 2025
Well Written and Clever
This is a well written and clever golden age mystery story. I guessed the murderer, but only because I’ve read too many of this type of book. The murder includes a “locked room” but this is not the focus of the investigation as it might be in a John Dickson Carr novel. The plot has several interesting twists. Recommended.
This is a well written and clever golden age mystery story. I guessed the murderer, but only because I’ve read too many of this type of book. The murder includes a “locked room” but this is not the focus of the investigation as it might be in a John Dickson Carr novel. The plot has several interesting twists. Recommended.
March 15, 2023
When Sir Simon Chandos is found dead in his locked library, with a phial of morphine tablets and a suicide note, it’s obvious that he has taken his own life. Obvious except for a discrepancy that cannot be overlooked. Suspicion soon falls on one Captain Rupert Dacre, the man who just happens to be in love with Chando’s wife, Catherine.
The Tragedy at Freyne is such an interesting mixture of styles. Gilbert’s cleverly constructed plot combines a country house setting, a locked door murder, with an amateur detective. While that character, in the person of up and coming politician Scott Egerton, is introduced at the outset, his true involvement in the case only begins in the last third of the book. I found out that a bit odd. And, while the narrative relies on more melodrama than I usually prefer, Gilbert did a great job of keeping the plot moving with subplots involving blackmail and mysterious strangers. And Gilbert masterfully drops subtle clues throughout the story that are only fully understood in hindsight.
It all resulted in a cleverly written mystery that I can truly recommend to anyone looking for a good old-fashioned whodunit.
The Tragedy at Freyne is such an interesting mixture of styles. Gilbert’s cleverly constructed plot combines a country house setting, a locked door murder, with an amateur detective. While that character, in the person of up and coming politician Scott Egerton, is introduced at the outset, his true involvement in the case only begins in the last third of the book. I found out that a bit odd. And, while the narrative relies on more melodrama than I usually prefer, Gilbert did a great job of keeping the plot moving with subplots involving blackmail and mysterious strangers. And Gilbert masterfully drops subtle clues throughout the story that are only fully understood in hindsight.
It all resulted in a cleverly written mystery that I can truly recommend to anyone looking for a good old-fashioned whodunit.
July 21, 2023
Horrible editing, amazing, classic locked room story. It is such an amazing story, in fact, that it is a shame about just how bad the editing is. Punction errors makes it difficult to read and at times difficult to understand what just happened or was said. Spelling errors kept things interesting, rather than the plot and paragraph wrapping could cause missed parts being read because those parts ended on the back side of the following page rather than the page facing the text, very confusing! Either the editing team or the publisher should be sued by whomever put out the book.
Having said all that, if the reader did plod through all this it was more than worth it! The twist at the end was one that I never saw coming and would never have imagined in a million years. I'm going to try to find an earlier printing of this book because, just WOW!! It will be a treasure to have!!!
Having said all that, if the reader did plod through all this it was more than worth it! The twist at the end was one that I never saw coming and would never have imagined in a million years. I'm going to try to find an earlier printing of this book because, just WOW!! It will be a treasure to have!!!
October 4, 2023
This starts off rather slowly as a typical (for the time—late 1920s) country house mystery, but at around the halfway point, the pace accelerates and I couldn’t put it down till I’d finished it.
Incidentally, the male characters in the book make a lot of misogynist statements. As “Anthony Gilbert” was really a woman (Lucy Malleson), I had to wonder whether she was laughing as she wrote.
Incidentally, the male characters in the book make a lot of misogynist statements. As “Anthony Gilbert” was really a woman (Lucy Malleson), I had to wonder whether she was laughing as she wrote.
July 11, 2023
A country house murder. Interesting as a period piece and for the early history of the modern mystery (and for early 20th c English upper class culture and mores) but incredibly overwrought emotionally - and the reversals in character and plot come out of nowhere.
June 2, 2024
"It's occurred to me," he returned apologetically, "heard of it before – magazines, Sunday papers, National Education Authorities – some woman connected with his early life perhaps. Got him on a string and is biting his ear like blazes."
"This isn't the Lyceum," I reminded him.
"Perhaps not. But life can be damn' well like a Lyceum melodrama sometimes. Suppose he married this woman in his twenties, thought her dead, and now she reappears like a ghost in black, and bleeds him white to save his wife's good name?"
I cursed him for an imaginative flapper with a vocabulary it had taken me years to accumulate. And he answered not a word. The remembrance of his silence haunted me throughout the journey to Freyne.
(Anthony Gilbert, The Tragedy at Freyne, p.3)
Simon Chandos’s marriage is falling apart, and it’s easily accepted that his ensuing death is suicide. But when a small discrepancy is discovered the guests in his town house begin to suspect murder.
My favorite thing about this story is that the ‘detective’, Scott Egerton, isn’t really more than a silent background character until about a hundred pages in. Then he swoops back into the narrative and takes us on a whirl-wind hunt for clues to prove what he’d figured out while the narrator was off hiring lawyers and consoling widows. Until he shows up the plot feels a little too slow for the length of the book.
Warning: the suicide tag isn’t for the main character – that gets cleared up as a red herring pretty quickly – it’s for one of the suspects.
CHARACTERS:
No one here is being straight, I love it. And I loved how, until the halfway point, the reader assumes that the narrator is going to be the ‘detective’ of the story. But then the real hero suddenly swoops in a the narrator is being dragged along for the ride.
SETTING/WORLD BUILDING:
It wasn’t anything special, but it was well done in the sense that it was so perfect for the work that the setting and world building slid right into place. When it’s not a place you have to build from scratch, blending in is the best job you can do.
PLOT/SOLUTION:
Solid, but the progress is a little slow for the length of the book and speeds up dramatically about halfway in to make up lost ground. You might find it a bit jarring; I just found it funny.
THE VERDICT?
Loved this one.
"This isn't the Lyceum," I reminded him.
"Perhaps not. But life can be damn' well like a Lyceum melodrama sometimes. Suppose he married this woman in his twenties, thought her dead, and now she reappears like a ghost in black, and bleeds him white to save his wife's good name?"
I cursed him for an imaginative flapper with a vocabulary it had taken me years to accumulate. And he answered not a word. The remembrance of his silence haunted me throughout the journey to Freyne.
(Anthony Gilbert, The Tragedy at Freyne, p.3)
Simon Chandos’s marriage is falling apart, and it’s easily accepted that his ensuing death is suicide. But when a small discrepancy is discovered the guests in his town house begin to suspect murder.
My favorite thing about this story is that the ‘detective’, Scott Egerton, isn’t really more than a silent background character until about a hundred pages in. Then he swoops back into the narrative and takes us on a whirl-wind hunt for clues to prove what he’d figured out while the narrator was off hiring lawyers and consoling widows. Until he shows up the plot feels a little too slow for the length of the book.
Warning: the suicide tag isn’t for the main character – that gets cleared up as a red herring pretty quickly – it’s for one of the suspects.
CHARACTERS:
No one here is being straight, I love it. And I loved how, until the halfway point, the reader assumes that the narrator is going to be the ‘detective’ of the story. But then the real hero suddenly swoops in a the narrator is being dragged along for the ride.
SETTING/WORLD BUILDING:
It wasn’t anything special, but it was well done in the sense that it was so perfect for the work that the setting and world building slid right into place. When it’s not a place you have to build from scratch, blending in is the best job you can do.
PLOT/SOLUTION:
Solid, but the progress is a little slow for the length of the book and speeds up dramatically about halfway in to make up lost ground. You might find it a bit jarring; I just found it funny.
THE VERDICT?
Loved this one.
June 9, 2024
I did not read the kindle edition. I borrowed it from a state university library archives preservation office. It is the only library book I have ever borrowed through intrastate interlibray loan that came packaged in a heavy cardboard foldable removable wrapper that had to be wrapped around the book when I returned it. It is a 1927 version with a plain red cover of that era and the cover looks nothing like the cover depicted here.
So, yes, it is from a bygone era. I have been curating books that have been produced into movies and this is my first Anthony Gilbert/Lucy Beatrice Malleson read. Another title of hers is "The Woman in Red" which was produced into a movie, "My Name is Julia Ross" 1945, one hour and five minutes.
This mystery was published in 1927. "Woman in Red"was published in 1941.
As I move forward reading more of her work, I am curious how she evolved as a writer over the years.
The television was first introduced in 1927 but was not in widespread use or distribution. By 1941 it certainly was and I would be interested in knowing how Beatric Malleson throught of her book evolving into essentailly a new art medium, a movie. not on TV back then, but available on TV now.
If you are familiar with Ronald Knox's 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction published in 1929, I found it interesting that The Tragedy at Freyne skirted Commandment #3: "no more than one room or secret passage is allowable" NO SPOILER HERE
You will have to read the book to see what I mean about how this commandment was touched upon.
One thing that I found interesting about the characters and the character descriptions, almost every one of them was in an extreme case of stress, some bordering on mental illness by today's notions. Not only the human mind was described, but, how the mind absolutely destroys the countenances and physical appearances of the characters.
Everyone is completely stressed out but for a bunch of different reasons. So, one cannot assume that any stressed characters necessarily indicates they are involved in the tragedy.
The only characters that were not raving mad were the servants in the country estate, who played a very ancillary tangential roles. So the author didn't delve into all of their psyches thankfully.
So, yes, it is from a bygone era. I have been curating books that have been produced into movies and this is my first Anthony Gilbert/Lucy Beatrice Malleson read. Another title of hers is "The Woman in Red" which was produced into a movie, "My Name is Julia Ross" 1945, one hour and five minutes.
This mystery was published in 1927. "Woman in Red"was published in 1941.
As I move forward reading more of her work, I am curious how she evolved as a writer over the years.
The television was first introduced in 1927 but was not in widespread use or distribution. By 1941 it certainly was and I would be interested in knowing how Beatric Malleson throught of her book evolving into essentailly a new art medium, a movie. not on TV back then, but available on TV now.
If you are familiar with Ronald Knox's 10 Commandments of Detective Fiction published in 1929, I found it interesting that The Tragedy at Freyne skirted Commandment #3: "no more than one room or secret passage is allowable" NO SPOILER HERE
You will have to read the book to see what I mean about how this commandment was touched upon.
One thing that I found interesting about the characters and the character descriptions, almost every one of them was in an extreme case of stress, some bordering on mental illness by today's notions. Not only the human mind was described, but, how the mind absolutely destroys the countenances and physical appearances of the characters.
Everyone is completely stressed out but for a bunch of different reasons. So, one cannot assume that any stressed characters necessarily indicates they are involved in the tragedy.
The only characters that were not raving mad were the servants in the country estate, who played a very ancillary tangential roles. So the author didn't delve into all of their psyches thankfully.
January 28, 2026
A house party at Freyne Hall, the home of noted artist, Sir Simon Chandos, goes from bad to deadly when the man's wife cringes at his touch and he is found poisoned in his library the next day. There's a suicide note in front of him and a phial of morphia tablets, but the findings quickly change to murder, shocking everyone. And then Chandos' secretary, Althea Dennis, begins to point the finger at Catherine Chandos' close friend Rubert Dacre.
And then things really get tense. Amateur detective Scott Egerton, assisted by Alan Ravenwood — book narrator, Chandos friend and Catherine's cousin, investigates the clues and discovers that all is not how they seem. And despite deviousness, blackmail and slight of hand, Egerton comes up with the truth of Chandos' murder.
An interesting and devious story with several red herrings, as well as twists and turns. One thing that surprised me was the misogyny offered up by the author (Anthony is the pen name of female author Lucy Malleson). I suppose that by writing under a male name, Malleson went with the times, but it ended up making all her female characters very devious, naive or both. Which is sad.
Other female writers — Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh to name a few — did not stoop to the idea that women came up a distant second to males. For some reason, this really bothers me coming from a woman. Yes, it matches how many male writers portrayed women in this era of books, but its hard to believe that a female author would. And it bothers me more than other reflections of the times (such as the derogatory terms for minorities). Those I can understand — don't like them but I would argue that because the stories are reflections of their times, they should stand. Does it make me a hypocrite because I'm bothered by how my own sex is portrayed? Perhaps. But I see it as a put down by Malleson of her own sex and in my eyes, reflects badly on her.
Malleson, as Gilbert, has created a strong story with good writing, descriptions, dialogue. Her character, Egerton, is an interesting one, and obviously became popular as he features in 10 of her books. While some of his deductions seem almost clarevoyant, the manner in which he proves his case is masterful. Overall, a good read.
And then things really get tense. Amateur detective Scott Egerton, assisted by Alan Ravenwood — book narrator, Chandos friend and Catherine's cousin, investigates the clues and discovers that all is not how they seem. And despite deviousness, blackmail and slight of hand, Egerton comes up with the truth of Chandos' murder.
An interesting and devious story with several red herrings, as well as twists and turns. One thing that surprised me was the misogyny offered up by the author (Anthony is the pen name of female author Lucy Malleson). I suppose that by writing under a male name, Malleson went with the times, but it ended up making all her female characters very devious, naive or both. Which is sad.
Other female writers — Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh to name a few — did not stoop to the idea that women came up a distant second to males. For some reason, this really bothers me coming from a woman. Yes, it matches how many male writers portrayed women in this era of books, but its hard to believe that a female author would. And it bothers me more than other reflections of the times (such as the derogatory terms for minorities). Those I can understand — don't like them but I would argue that because the stories are reflections of their times, they should stand. Does it make me a hypocrite because I'm bothered by how my own sex is portrayed? Perhaps. But I see it as a put down by Malleson of her own sex and in my eyes, reflects badly on her.
Malleson, as Gilbert, has created a strong story with good writing, descriptions, dialogue. Her character, Egerton, is an interesting one, and obviously became popular as he features in 10 of her books. While some of his deductions seem almost clarevoyant, the manner in which he proves his case is masterful. Overall, a good read.
August 4, 2023
This is my first time to read a book by Anthony Gilbert, and I'll be trying more.
The story of a wonderfully talented, successful, and kind Englishman, whose life is yet full of tragedy, and who apparently takes his own life after a humiliating event while hosting guests at Freyne.
Of course there is a lot more to this or we wouldn't have a story.
But the mystery is so skillfully woven, so well presented through the first person narrative of a close friend of the victim, and so carefully unraveled through the eyes of a character that in the beginning hardly seems worth the reader's careful consideration.
As usual, the truth unfolds because one of the individuals present at the time of death has an amazing eye for detail and deduction - in this case, Edgerton.
It is one of those mysteries were the reader thinks, "why didn't I catch that?"
That always makes for great entertainment.
The story of a wonderfully talented, successful, and kind Englishman, whose life is yet full of tragedy, and who apparently takes his own life after a humiliating event while hosting guests at Freyne.
Of course there is a lot more to this or we wouldn't have a story.
But the mystery is so skillfully woven, so well presented through the first person narrative of a close friend of the victim, and so carefully unraveled through the eyes of a character that in the beginning hardly seems worth the reader's careful consideration.
As usual, the truth unfolds because one of the individuals present at the time of death has an amazing eye for detail and deduction - in this case, Edgerton.
It is one of those mysteries were the reader thinks, "why didn't I catch that?"
That always makes for great entertainment.
January 9, 2024
A very enjoyable British golden age mystery, and as others have said, quite well written given the standards of the genre. The mystery itself was very much not obvious, with some good twists and turns, although there's more likelihood of the reader guessing at the solution than really solving the case, and not a huge chance of either. The only thing I didn't like was that most, if not all, of the characters were annoying, maybe partly because of the values of the era, but more importantly because of their irrititing personalities. That's part of other books in this genre though, so not a huge flaw, but I did have to get past the fact that the characters were mostly obnoxious and it was difficult at times to not want them all to get punished.
February 1, 2026
Prolific mystery author Lucy Beatrice Malleson--a contemporary of Agatha Christie who published more than 70 novels between 1925 and 1972--introduces her clever amateur detective Scott Egerton in THE TRAGEDY AT FREYNE, which appeared in 1927 under Malleson's pseudonym Anthony Gilbert. The story in narrated by Alan Ravenswood in a rather florid stream-of-consciousness style given to digressions and long paragraphs, which can at times be taxing to the reader (and which marks this novel as early work). But I had to give THE TRAGEDY AT FREYNE extra credit because . . . well . . .
it completely bamboozled me.
When I got to the conclusion, I was thunderstruck: it had never even crossed my mind, despite fair-play clues offered throughout the text. So I had to tip my hat. Well done.
it completely bamboozled me.
When I got to the conclusion, I was thunderstruck: it had never even crossed my mind, despite fair-play clues offered throughout the text. So I had to tip my hat. Well done.
June 22, 2023
An artist, Sir Simon Chandos, is found dead in his study, apparently by his own hand, but a discrepancy reveals that it was actually murder. His friend, who has loved Chandos' wife for years, is the obvious suspect and is quickly arrested. A confession from a different party follows, and it appears that the crime is solved, but another friend is not satisfied and proceeds to investigate on his own.
This mystery is clever, interesting, and well-written. It is narrated in the first person by a Watson of sorts whose believable voice adds greatly to the book. The solution was unexpected, and may not have been solvable from the information given, but overall this is a satisfying read.
This mystery is clever, interesting, and well-written. It is narrated in the first person by a Watson of sorts whose believable voice adds greatly to the book. The solution was unexpected, and may not have been solvable from the information given, but overall this is a satisfying read.
March 23, 2024
When well know artist Sir Simon Chandos is found dead in his locked library, with a phial of morphine tablets and a suicide note, it’s obvious that he has taken his own life. But the discovery of a trivial discrepancy, by one of the guests, Scott Egerton (who really doesn't become the amateur detective until near the end and then omes on like gndbusters), turns the suspicion in the direction of murder. It is he who unravels the web of an exceptionally brilliant and cold-blooded plot. Suspicion soon falls on one Captain Rupert Dacre, the man who just happens to be in love with Chando’s wife, Catherine. It is a bit melodramatic with subplots involving blackmail and mysterious strangers.
November 27, 2023
Time is not always kind
To an author and their works. Gilbert is not well known these days, but when this was written he was popular. The story is good, but is twisty and has a less than effective narrator focus character that acts as the reluctant observer and occasional tool of others rather than memorable. Others do all the clever detective work and the ending is weak by modern standards. It was worth reading but not world shattering an experience.
To an author and their works. Gilbert is not well known these days, but when this was written he was popular. The story is good, but is twisty and has a less than effective narrator focus character that acts as the reluctant observer and occasional tool of others rather than memorable. Others do all the clever detective work and the ending is weak by modern standards. It was worth reading but not world shattering an experience.
April 27, 2024
Great mystery from the Golden age
Intricately plotted with unexpected twists and turns, this is a great mystery story from the Golden Age. Not easily predictable, Gilbert is a consummate writer who is easily one of the founders of the English County House murder plots. The cast of characters includes the usual group of f friends and police investigators aided by a few of those friends in solving the crime. Highly recommended.
Intricately plotted with unexpected twists and turns, this is a great mystery story from the Golden Age. Not easily predictable, Gilbert is a consummate writer who is easily one of the founders of the English County House murder plots. The cast of characters includes the usual group of f friends and police investigators aided by a few of those friends in solving the crime. Highly recommended.
March 31, 2025
Very insightful quotes from this lovely 1927 first edition I am holding. Keep in mind it was written by a woman.
"Catherine was one of those unhappy women whom anything unlovely or inharmonious hurts like a wound."
"As far as reason goes women have not progressed much from the stage of the savage whose head can hold only one idea at a time."
"No sane man wants to see laws made by women."
"Catherine was one of those unhappy women whom anything unlovely or inharmonious hurts like a wound."
"As far as reason goes women have not progressed much from the stage of the savage whose head can hold only one idea at a time."
"No sane man wants to see laws made by women."
May 8, 2023
Another Great Murder Mystery
This was an author I had never heard of before but Amazon had recommended this book highly. The story sounded interesting so I decided to try it. I am so glad I did. It is well plotted, flows smoothly and never loses your interest.
This was an author I had never heard of before but Amazon had recommended this book highly. The story sounded interesting so I decided to try it. I am so glad I did. It is well plotted, flows smoothly and never loses your interest.
June 29, 2023
As advertised, a Golden Age English Country House murder mystery, with the expected antiquated attitudes toward women, foreigners, mental illness, etc. but a bit of a twist when it comes to societal morals and the villain(s). Not sorry I read it, if that's a recommendation.
January 28, 2024
Just a fabulous story
The story of the murder of Sir Simon Chandos is as good a murder mystery as can be. It is exceptionally well thought out with unexpected twists and turns. I loved every minute of it and read it in one sitting. It is now 5 a.m. and I am going to sleep 😴.
The story of the murder of Sir Simon Chandos is as good a murder mystery as can be. It is exceptionally well thought out with unexpected twists and turns. I loved every minute of it and read it in one sitting. It is now 5 a.m. and I am going to sleep 😴.
November 1, 2024
I almost made it to the end of this book but ended up bailing at 80%. There wasn’t a single character in the whole book I cared about and the solution to the mystery had already been revealed.
Want to read
June 9, 2025RK NOOK
December 31, 2025
This book was amazing! Wow, what a ride. The audio book reader really made it for me too.
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