The Sweepstake Murders

Sir Clinton Driffield #7

by J.J. Connington

The Sweepstakes Murders, first published in 1931, is the 7th book in author J. J. Connington’s series featuring chief-constable Sir Clinton Driffield. From the dustjacket: “Mr. Connington’s new detective story opens at the end of a bridge-party, when one of the players suggests the formation of a small syndicate to have a flutter in a coming sweepstake. Winnings are to be pooled and divided among the members. Most of the bridge-players join, on terms proposed and accepted on the spur of the moment. A syndicate ticket wins a big prize. Before the money is collected, however, one of the syndicate dies, apparently by foul play. Under the agreement, his share is to be divided among the remaining ticket-holders; and suspicion naturally falls first on those who are certain to profit by the death. Personal characteristics, possible motives, alibis and circumstantial evidence provide the detectives with an intricate problem of clues and personalities.”

Genres: Mystery

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

Pseudonym of Alfred Walter Stewart.

Reviews

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Squire' Wendover is a member of a sweepstake syndicate with eight other friends and acquaintances. One man dies which causes legal arguments about whether or not his share of the winnings should be distributed between the rest or become part of his estate. Then another member dies in what may or not have been an accident.

Sir Clinton Driffield starts to worry about his friend's safety and becomes involved in the case. I really enjoyed the way the evidence is assembled - especially the duplication of photographs which apparently provide an unbreakable alibi for at least one of the suspects. The analysis of the typewriters used in typing the various notes and letters also makes interesting reading.

If you enjoy carefully crafted plots with interesting evidence then this book and this series will appeal to you. I did work out who the murderer was quite early on but I still enjoyed reading this and seeing how all the clues fitted together. The series can be read in any order.

[george burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite Christie

Nine men (fewer would have allowed better character. development) create a betting syndicate which may or may not constitute a tontine (it is contested). Alas, the members begin to suffer fatal accidents. The action is set in the gentile interwar Britain imagined by writers of fiction. For the modern reader, the the antiquated social snobbery, bizarre relations between the sexes and absurd notions of honor are by turn amusing and annoying The resolution relies on science and it is overly complex and boring. It suffices to say that no murderer would have plotted crimes the way the author did for the excellent reason that, relying on an array of perfectly timed events, there would have been no chance of success. This amounts to Agatha Christie without her cleverness.

[Mark Bowden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very readable mystery with interesting characters and a satisfyingly complex plot. I worked out the who and the why but not all the details of the how and I was properly stymied by some of the red herrings. I noticed one small plot hole, not a serious one; not so much a plot hole as a plot bank, actually - why did the Inspector not notice the bank? It would have been in his way when he was conducting his own photographic experiment. One curiosity of the book is that every single character has a topographic surname; it's a bit like reading a Georgette Heyer novel from that point of view. Unfortunately the text of this Kindle edition is taken from an American edition of 1937, consequently with American spelling, and despite a rather badly-written and ambiguous publisher's note about maps, no maps are included.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bigger piece of pie is always better.

Suppose you and eight of your nearest, dearest friends go together to buy a lottery ticket. All of you sign an agreement that the prize will be divided equally between the living syndicate members at the time of payoff. If one dies, the money reverts (not to the man's estate) but to the other syndicate members.

So every time one of you dies, the others benefit financially. Would you start looking at your friends and thinking, "Of course, I don't WANT anything to happen to so-and-so. We've been like brothers. But if he DID die, I'd get more money." Would you start thinking how convenient a few deaths would be? Would you wonder if your friends were thinking the same thing?

Now suppose it's not a group of friends, but nine men who happened to be at a stag bridge party when one of them casually suggested a sweepstakes syndicate. You're not Besties, just men who live in the same neighborhood. Heck, maybe you don't even like some of them. Would that make a difference?

I enjoyed the introduction by Golden Age mystery critic Curtis Evans. He's lumped the Scotsman who wrote detective stories under the name "J J Connington" with three other GA writers - R. Austin Freeman (creator of Dr Thorndyke). Cecil Street (creator of Dr Priestley and Desmond Merrion), and Freeman Wills Crofts (creator of Inspector French of Scotland Yard) as writers of the Hum-Drum school of detection.

I object because it sounds like a slur, but Evans is simply saying the four authors' detectives solve mysteries with scientific precision, not flashes of brilliance or intuition. Since I think that's the way police work is carried out ("shoe-leather" investigation or "pounding the pavements") I enjoy their books. Inspector French is a great favorite and I like Desmond Merrion. Dr Thornedyke isn't a favorite, but I've gotten fond of Chief Constable Sir Clinton Driffield.

I think it's telling that three of the four men were trained scientists. Freeman was an M.D., Crofts was an engineer, and Connington was a chemist. The scientic approach was mother's milk to these men.

But to get back to that syndicate. The first member dies in an airplane crash. Probably an accident, but it made someone consider the possibilities. One of the members was Sir Clinton Driffield's old pal "Squire" Wendover and Driffield is staying at Wendover's estate when the first suspecious "accident" occurs. Will Sir Clinton's Dr Watson come to an untimely end?

I like the fact that local CID Inspector Severn is doing the investigation. We met him in "The Boathouse Riddle" and he's a good man - intelligent, meticulous, and pains-taking. Much of the evidence is contained in the camera work of the victim, a visitor to the area who falls to his death into a gaping crevasse. One of the suspects is a good-looking woman and Squire Wendover does his usual Knight-in-Shining-Armor act and refuses to believe it. Inspector Severn is a professional and follows the clues.

Then a third member dies in a car crash. They're dropping like flies and one guy gets the wind up and drops out. What good will the money do him if he's not alive to spend it? No one is impressed with his logic and his cool-minded GF breaks the engagement. She was counting on that money.

There's a fourth death (one which brings tears to no one's eyes) and a syndicate member is arrested for murder. Inspector Severn has it all worked out on the basis of alibis, but Sir Clinton shows up and takes some additional photos. His theory is that one of those alibis was cleverly faked.

I'll admit that Connington's books don't whiz along at a dizzying speed. There's a great deal of detail. You can take it all in or skim over it (which I do.) I continue to like Sir Clinton and Squire Wendover isn't as irritating as some Dr Watsons. This author may have been primarily interested in scientific data, but he also had an eye for people. He created some characters you can get your teeth into. For that, he deserves to be re-discovered.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Connington is in great form for a classic 1930's puzzle of a very high order.

Squire Wendover is part of a syndicate of nine men with a winning sweepstake ticket. Three members die in apparently accidental circumstances, too many to be a coincidence.

Inspector Severn is not convinced by the verdicts of accidental death, since each death enriches the remaining members. Sir Clinton Driffield takes a back seat until late on, when his re-interpretation of some of the evidence spotlights the killer.

Unshakeable alibis and incontrovertible scientific evidence play a part in this well-written novel with enough red herring to confuse the issue.

I thought the perpetrator was fairly clear to the reader who knows the plotting ploys from this era but it was nevertheless hugely enjoyable,

4.5 stars.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a bit longer than it should have been but still it was a perfectly fluid read with a very good finish . I absolutely loved Driffields demo with the wireless set .Sir Clinton Driffield was a bit absent in this book and the stage is held by Severn .Severn is a competent detective but ofcourse he is no match to Crofts French in perseverance or detail checking but also he does not have the resources of the Yard behind him.
I also liked the way Wendovers character is sketched ... I myself particularly liked that Times test ..its just that touch of personal vanity or quirk that is expected of a man of his type .Yes..he comes across as a bit of a snob ...but then everyone is on some point or other . There was just enough character development as was necessary for the story and thats it . It was such a pleasure to not bother about a side characters estranged wife who has zilch to do with the plot(That last Millar I read) and stick to the point .Here there is a mystery that is indeed a mystery to all but the murderer until he is caught and not one solely created by authors creativity by showing you parts in the wrong order .
Sir Clinton Driffield is a cipher in this book as he is barely there but the way he solves the puzzle is dazzling . I should mention that the puzzle is tricky but cluing and the scientific way of solving it is extremely satisfying.
This was my first Connington and surely wont be my last ( as I am not part of any syndicate.... ha ha ).

[Karmakosmik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un giallo molto contorto e arzigogolato questo "Otto Innocenti ed un colpevole" di JJ Connington, dove, in seguito all'acquisto di un biglietto della lotteria da parte di otto persone, iniziano ad esserci una serie di morti apparentemente accidentali. Questa è in sostanza la trama, e sebbene il libro risulta essere un po' lento in alcune parti, e ad avere una conclusione piuttosto complessa e non proprio immediata da comprendere, il libro è un bel giallo che metterà alla prova gli amanti del genere.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the premise of this book. The structure of the main detective swooping in the final few pages to explain the solution is strange from a 2024 perspective. I figured out who the killer was and why quite early on (probably about halfway through) but how the murder was done was genuinely surprising. There were too many characters so it was hard to keep them straight or care very much about any of them.

[Calum Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Squire Wendover is a member of a sweepstake syndicate with eight friends. Sir Clinton gets involved when two of them die.