Murder at St Paul's Cathedral: The gripping wartime murder mystery

by Jim Eldridge

May 1941. One of the senior choristers of St Paul's Cathedral choir, Dr Edwin Roberts, is found beaten to death in the crypt of the Cathedral. Coburg and Lampson are called in to investigate, and when they get there, Coburg is pleasantly surprised to be greeted there by Arthur Waterson, now sporting a dog collar, someone he was at Eton with many years before. Waterson believes that there may be a connection between the very precious books that are houses in the Crypt and Dr Roberts' work at Bletchley Park. As Coburg and Lampson work to solve a very puzzling case, it becomes clear that there is more to the brutal murder than they first suspected .

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 17, 2025

About the author

Jim Eldridge is the author of many books for children, including titles in the My Story series, the Warpath books, and How to Handle Grown-Ups. He has had 250 TV scripts broadcast in the UK and internationally for children's and teen television, and is also the creator and writer of Radio 4's long-running comedy-drama series, King Street Junior.

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book a solid 3.5 stars. Not being particularly familiar with WWII from the British perspective, I did have to stop and look up some of the historical events and people referenced in this book. I am familiar with Churchill, of course, and Alan Turing, but was not aware of some of the other events. Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Edgar Coburg and his sergeant, Lampson, are called to investigate the bludgeoning death of one of choristers, Edwin Roberts. It turns out not only was Roberts a singer, but he participated in the volunteer group of men who protect the cathedral from the nightly bombs dropped by the Germans. At first Coburg and Lampson don't get very far - no one seems to know Roberts. He kept himself to himself they all say. But it is clear he was not well liked. Arrogant chess master was a recurring description. They finally learn he had a very bad relationship with another chorister and chess master who left the cathedral to join the code breakers at Bletchley Park. So, we follow the DCI as he tries to learn if this chess rival is a murderer. Meanwhile we learn that Coburg is married to locally famous Rosa Weeks, a popular singer with a radio show. She is hired to sing a couple of songs in a movie where she will play a nightclub singer. But when the famous star of the film attempts to rape her Rosa doesn't back down. She knees her attacker who has her fired from the film. Both story lines toggle back and forth. Coburg wanting to help Rosa but unable to get involved while he investigates the murder at the cathedral. Rosa standing her ground. It is an interesting book, but I was not surprised when I learned the author is a screen writer. The book did read like a script quickly going from one scene to the next. But, overall, a decent read with interesting historical notes.

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder mystery set in 1941 - centred around St Paul's Cathedral, LONDON



This is the first in the Cathedral Mysteries series, although it is not the first outing for the main protagonist pair (who have featured in titles such as: Murder at Whitechapel Road Station / Murder at Aldwych Station...)

This is good, solid storytelling that is strong both in sense of place and era. It's 1941 and a senior chorister has been found dead, wedged behind a cupboard in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, bludgeoned, as though the perpetrator was fired by anger.

DCI Saxe-Coburg (he is known only as Coburg for obvious reasons) and Sergeant Lampson arrive to investigate, and as they carry out their enquiries, they discover the man was generally an unpopular member of the choir. There is clearly reticence on the part of those interviewed and so Coburg feels it would be appropriate to spend the night with the team from the Night Watch, charged with protecting the structure from bombs and fires and anything else untoward. Then, a link takes the investigators to Bletchley Park, where they meet a certain Mr Turing... but soon there is another murder.

I do love a bit of new learning when I read a novel and there are certainly some great titbits inserted into the narrative. The Cathedral has a small hospital, created in 1890, and the dome weighs 67,000 tons, so if that were to fall, it would crush everything (and everyone) beneath it.

[Scilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This new series has the same Scotland Yard detectives as the hotel and underground series. The book takes place at the beginning of WWII. Coburg is called to St. Paul's Cathedral when a member of the choir, Edwin Roberts has been found murdered. Edwin also helped to protect the Cathedral from German bombs destroying the roof. He was an avid chess player, and was not well liked by another chess player who was now working at Bletchley Park, where smart folks were trying to break the German codes. Meanwhile, Coburg's wife Rosa Weeks who is a well known singer has been asked to be in a movie. However, one of the actors tries to rape her, and she gets him in the balls in retaliation. The actor then tells the boss that she attacked him for no reason and she should be dismissed from the movie. Coburg can't investigate because he is her husband. Meanwhile a the policeman who does investigate is not a very good policeman and arrests her. Fortunately, Coburg has a very good family lawyer who gets her out of jail, but the lousy detective is still on the case and she is still the guilty party in his eyes. There is another choir person murdered, and some rare and valuable books from the Cathedral library stolen. Thus, there is a lot going on.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable set of cases for DCI Edgar Coburg and DS Ted Lampson of Scotland Yard to investigate in their own inimitable way.
We start with the two men being called to St. Paul's Cathedral, where a chorister is found dead. There are several suspects, as usual, but there are also other murders and a theft that raise their heads to cloud the issue. While investigating the original crime, the two police officers are distracted by Coburg's wife, Rosa Weeks, being accused of murder, and a bent copper in the Ealing Station. All the crimes appear to be linked in some way, and Coburg and Lampson have several theories as to who is responsible. Coburg is unable to investigate the case involving his wife, but manages to pass on vital information that helps her cause. The investigations continue, and eventually all the crimes are solved.
An engaging story from start to finish. I love Jim Eldridge's books and have thoroughly enjoyed all the ones I've read so far.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars for another fine mystery by Jim Eldridge. There are several murders for DCI Saxe-Coburg and his assistant DS Lampson to investigate. I was definitely guessing on at least a couple. We also met Alan Turing at Blechley, which was a real treat. The characters were well developed and interesting, and the mysteries were twisty. And was that a setup with Beatrice and Dolores for the next book? Can't wait to check that out!

[Jill Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[J Grimsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable Mystery that runs along very quickly.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are getting slightly pedestrian now, switching the 'venue' doesn't really help - and how many cathedrals does London have?