Wait for a Corpse

by Max Murray

British murder mystery about a diffident young man who is saddled with a most unpleasant relative. Somewhat repetitive and to some extent unconvincing, but somehow a most enjoyable read nonetheless.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

238 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Maxwell Alexander Murray. 1901-1956. Born in Australia; newspaper reporter in that country, the U.S., and England; scriptwriter and editor for BBC during WWII; married to author Maysie Greig.

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charmingly written English country mystery by a seemingly mostly forgotten author. Among this novel’s pleasures are its narrative voice, humor, vivid setting, and the way it deftly interweaves two mysteries—first, who shot Uncle Titus and failed to kill him and, second, whether Uncle Titus poisoned the narrator’s aunt. It also has a really amusing will-they–won’t-they love story and a lot of fun character stuff, and the “wait for a corpse” is worth it.

I turned this up at a used book store purely because I like collecting old Penguin paperbacks and my wife and I enjoyed it as a bedtime read for a month. Going to seek out more by Max Murray.

[Nancy]

liked it, even though it's a bit wandering and repetitive. you get frustrated waiting for the hero to start standing up for himself, but all is well in the end.