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Cottage Sinister
The first novel published as Q. Patrick by Richard Wilson Webb and Martha Mott Kelley.
279 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1931
About the author
Q. Patrick
50 books6 followersPatrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987), Richard Wilson Webb (August 1901 – December 1966), Martha Mott Kelly (30 April 1906–2005) and Mary Louise White Aswell (3 June 1902 – 24 December 1984) wrote detective fiction. In some foreign countries their books have been published under the variant Quentin Patrick. Most of the stories were written by Webb and Wheeler in collaboration, or by Wheeler alone. Their most famous creation is the amateur sleuth Peter Duluth. In 1963, the story collection The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 22, 2020
A lot of reviewers of this debut QP novel give it fairly short shrift. I do not feel quite so dismissive of this prentice piece although it does have its longueurs, principally in the overuse of those irritating renditions of working class speech so loved by authors in the 20s and 30s.
There are four deaths, all poisonings by hyoscine, a drug made famous by the Crippen case. The chief professional investigator is Inspector Archibald Inge- "the Archdeacon" who interestingly seems to take a very mathematical approach to crime-solving. Unfortunately, here, it does not avail him at all and the crimes are figured out by an amateur.
The humour has overtones of PG Wodehouse and the stiflingly close atmosphere of a small English village is well-done.
I found this, on the whole quite entertaining, and as a first outing in murder mystery, quite acceptable.
3.5 stars
There are four deaths, all poisonings by hyoscine, a drug made famous by the Crippen case. The chief professional investigator is Inspector Archibald Inge- "the Archdeacon" who interestingly seems to take a very mathematical approach to crime-solving. Unfortunately, here, it does not avail him at all and the crimes are figured out by an amateur.
The humour has overtones of PG Wodehouse and the stiflingly close atmosphere of a small English village is well-done.
I found this, on the whole quite entertaining, and as a first outing in murder mystery, quite acceptable.
3.5 stars
December 30, 2018
Great mystery
I’ve read a few books by this author, but this is one of their best books. Highly recommended. It will keep you guessing until the last pages.
I’ve read a few books by this author, but this is one of their best books. Highly recommended. It will keep you guessing until the last pages.
April 26, 2020
I thought this was a fairly well-set-up mystery, but as the story went on it lost me a bit. For one thing, the body count gets a little overwhelming (I knew one character was doomed as soon as they uttered the "I know something, but I can't tell you...I'll wait and tell the inspector" speech); and for another, while the characters of the suspects and victims are decently lifelike, the investigators by contrast are somewhat of caricatures. Even though I find that most (all?) of the writers behind the collaborative pen name were British-born, Cottage Sinister sometimes feels oddly like a British-set novel written by an American—having Cockney dialogue spelled out phonetically, for instance; and a London police detective be so clueless about what "the aristocracy" are like. So all in all, merely okay.
May 23, 2026
Can a book be technically deficient, but also entertaining?
For me the answer is "yes" judging by my reaction to this one. I'm giving it a generous three stars, because three stars means I liked it and I do.
The individuals who wrote mysteries under the names Q Patrick, Patrick Quentin, and Jonathan Stagge were a shifting cast of characters. The founding father was a young Englishman who moved to the U.S. after WWI. He was an executive with a Philadelphia company, but longed to write. He was gay, but had an affinity for women, especially the well-educated career women who appeared in the 1920's.
He wrote his first mystery in 1931, collaborating with a local woman named Martha Kelly. They published this book and another one (not available on Kindle) then Martha married an Englishman and moved to the UK. Webb then wrote alone, then teamed up with another woman, then formed a long partnership with Hugh Wheeler.
Their most famous detectives were amateur Peter Duluth and NYC cop Lt. Timothy Trant. I have all of those books, but I like to start at the beginning of a writer's career. Sometimes that's a good idea and sometimes it's not.
I've read several short stories by Webb and Wheeler, as well as one of the Peter Duluth mysteries. Their stuff was much more polished than this first effort. Still, this one is fun.
It's a VERY traditional English village mystery. Why did a transplanted Englishman and an American woman set their mystery in England? No idea. Later books by Webb and Wheeler are set in the U.S. Maybe Webb wanted to remember his childhood home. Maybe Kelly was already in love with an Englishman and wanted to learn more about his culture.
It revolves around an elderly English widow with three grown daughters. Mrs Lubbock was a long-time servant for the local aristocratic family and nursed Lady Crosby's invalid mother for years. In appreciation, Lady Crosby has insisted her husband allow Mrs Lubbock to live in Lady's Bower - a picturesque cottage that's the prettiest in the village.
The two older daughters are maids in London, while young Lucy has been educated as a nurse by the generosity of Lady Crosby. For a young woman from a servant-class family to move into a profession was rare and met with disapproval from both working class and aristocrats. Times were beginning to change, but "upward mobility" is an American concept, NOT an English one.
Sir Howard and Lady Crosby have one son, who's broken with tradition by training as a doctor. It's common knowledge he's interested in the beautiful Lucy, but then so are all the other men.
The older daughters come home to visit and two shocking deaths occur. The local doctor and Dr Crosby agree they were poisoned, but the autopsies must wait until the coronor returns from vacation. Meanwhile, the village is in turmoil and the Crosby family (never a warm and fuzzy bunch) are even more estranged from each other than usual.
The detective is Scotland Yard's Inspector Inge, a youngish man known as the "Archdeacon" because of his clerical appearance and manners. He's a new-breed "scientific" investigator who's convinced that all evidence can be reduced to a mathmatical formula pointing to the guilty party. He even makes his notes on graph paper, although how that makes them more scientific than the traditional bar napkin is never explained.
He meets the remaining Lubbocks and forms opinions about them. Lucy is the odd-man-out, resented particularly by her oldest sister Isabel. Isabel also resents the male attention received by pretty Amy. Isabel is hard to figure out and the Inspector wonders if she has a few screws lose. Someone has been blackmailing someone about something, but getting information in a tightly-knit village is hard. The villagers aren't reluctant to dish the dirt, but they're seldom reliable.
Inge is thrilled to investigate a mystery involving aristocrats, but shocked to discover they have their problems like everyone else. Sir Howard is a pompous ass, but Lady Crosby is surprisingly down-to-earth. She was college-educated at a time when that was rare in England. She was also the heiress to a large fortune. Her husband loves having the use of her money, but treats her badly.
Lady Crosby is hard to figure out. Would a wealthy woman who shows so much confidence while talking to the Inspector be submissive to her stupid, snarly husband? Could anyone be so one-dimensional as Sir Howard? And what's the mystery about her invalid mother, known for being the crankiest witch in the Kingdom?
Inspector Inge zeroes in on his target, convinced there's only one person with motive, means, and opportunity. (It's right there on the graph paper, for Pete's sake!) When two more deaths occur, he blames himself for not making an arrest sooner. It seemed obvious, but he's waiting for lab results and somewhat in awe of the Crosby family.
In the end, an amateur detective with skin in the game and medical knowledge solves the puzzle. He gets his reward, but at a terrible cost to his family.
If you're looking for realism, read the newspaper. The plot has more holes than Swiss cheese and the characters seldom stay in character for long. (Come to think of it, that might be the most realistic thing about it.)
All I can say is that it has a certain charm. The writers haven't yet honed their craft, but it's impossible not to feel they enjoyed writing the book. An enthusiastic writer is always more fun to read than one who's simply cranking them out to keep the money coming in.
The setting is delightful and the look at village life (good and bad) rings true. The humor is exceptional, especially local PC Buss, who's determined to find the "percolator" of these horrible crimes, even if he has to work around the snooty London copper to do it. His investigative skills may be limited, but his vocabulary of multi-syllabic words is impecable and he uses them to great effect.
In the end, the guilty party is discovered, no thanks to either Scotland Yard or the locals. As PC Buss sums it up, "The Inspector has made his seductions, but there will be no confliction, for Death has triumvirated." I couldn't have said it better myself.
It won't have you on the edge of your chair and it's not up the quality of this writer's later books, but it's entertaining. That's really all I ask for.
For me the answer is "yes" judging by my reaction to this one. I'm giving it a generous three stars, because three stars means I liked it and I do.
The individuals who wrote mysteries under the names Q Patrick, Patrick Quentin, and Jonathan Stagge were a shifting cast of characters. The founding father was a young Englishman who moved to the U.S. after WWI. He was an executive with a Philadelphia company, but longed to write. He was gay, but had an affinity for women, especially the well-educated career women who appeared in the 1920's.
He wrote his first mystery in 1931, collaborating with a local woman named Martha Kelly. They published this book and another one (not available on Kindle) then Martha married an Englishman and moved to the UK. Webb then wrote alone, then teamed up with another woman, then formed a long partnership with Hugh Wheeler.
Their most famous detectives were amateur Peter Duluth and NYC cop Lt. Timothy Trant. I have all of those books, but I like to start at the beginning of a writer's career. Sometimes that's a good idea and sometimes it's not.
I've read several short stories by Webb and Wheeler, as well as one of the Peter Duluth mysteries. Their stuff was much more polished than this first effort. Still, this one is fun.
It's a VERY traditional English village mystery. Why did a transplanted Englishman and an American woman set their mystery in England? No idea. Later books by Webb and Wheeler are set in the U.S. Maybe Webb wanted to remember his childhood home. Maybe Kelly was already in love with an Englishman and wanted to learn more about his culture.
It revolves around an elderly English widow with three grown daughters. Mrs Lubbock was a long-time servant for the local aristocratic family and nursed Lady Crosby's invalid mother for years. In appreciation, Lady Crosby has insisted her husband allow Mrs Lubbock to live in Lady's Bower - a picturesque cottage that's the prettiest in the village.
The two older daughters are maids in London, while young Lucy has been educated as a nurse by the generosity of Lady Crosby. For a young woman from a servant-class family to move into a profession was rare and met with disapproval from both working class and aristocrats. Times were beginning to change, but "upward mobility" is an American concept, NOT an English one.
Sir Howard and Lady Crosby have one son, who's broken with tradition by training as a doctor. It's common knowledge he's interested in the beautiful Lucy, but then so are all the other men.
The older daughters come home to visit and two shocking deaths occur. The local doctor and Dr Crosby agree they were poisoned, but the autopsies must wait until the coronor returns from vacation. Meanwhile, the village is in turmoil and the Crosby family (never a warm and fuzzy bunch) are even more estranged from each other than usual.
The detective is Scotland Yard's Inspector Inge, a youngish man known as the "Archdeacon" because of his clerical appearance and manners. He's a new-breed "scientific" investigator who's convinced that all evidence can be reduced to a mathmatical formula pointing to the guilty party. He even makes his notes on graph paper, although how that makes them more scientific than the traditional bar napkin is never explained.
He meets the remaining Lubbocks and forms opinions about them. Lucy is the odd-man-out, resented particularly by her oldest sister Isabel. Isabel also resents the male attention received by pretty Amy. Isabel is hard to figure out and the Inspector wonders if she has a few screws lose. Someone has been blackmailing someone about something, but getting information in a tightly-knit village is hard. The villagers aren't reluctant to dish the dirt, but they're seldom reliable.
Inge is thrilled to investigate a mystery involving aristocrats, but shocked to discover they have their problems like everyone else. Sir Howard is a pompous ass, but Lady Crosby is surprisingly down-to-earth. She was college-educated at a time when that was rare in England. She was also the heiress to a large fortune. Her husband loves having the use of her money, but treats her badly.
Lady Crosby is hard to figure out. Would a wealthy woman who shows so much confidence while talking to the Inspector be submissive to her stupid, snarly husband? Could anyone be so one-dimensional as Sir Howard? And what's the mystery about her invalid mother, known for being the crankiest witch in the Kingdom?
Inspector Inge zeroes in on his target, convinced there's only one person with motive, means, and opportunity. (It's right there on the graph paper, for Pete's sake!) When two more deaths occur, he blames himself for not making an arrest sooner. It seemed obvious, but he's waiting for lab results and somewhat in awe of the Crosby family.
In the end, an amateur detective with skin in the game and medical knowledge solves the puzzle. He gets his reward, but at a terrible cost to his family.
If you're looking for realism, read the newspaper. The plot has more holes than Swiss cheese and the characters seldom stay in character for long. (Come to think of it, that might be the most realistic thing about it.)
All I can say is that it has a certain charm. The writers haven't yet honed their craft, but it's impossible not to feel they enjoyed writing the book. An enthusiastic writer is always more fun to read than one who's simply cranking them out to keep the money coming in.
The setting is delightful and the look at village life (good and bad) rings true. The humor is exceptional, especially local PC Buss, who's determined to find the "percolator" of these horrible crimes, even if he has to work around the snooty London copper to do it. His investigative skills may be limited, but his vocabulary of multi-syllabic words is impecable and he uses them to great effect.
In the end, the guilty party is discovered, no thanks to either Scotland Yard or the locals. As PC Buss sums it up, "The Inspector has made his seductions, but there will be no confliction, for Death has triumvirated." I couldn't have said it better myself.
It won't have you on the edge of your chair and it's not up the quality of this writer's later books, but it's entertaining. That's really all I ask for.
January 7, 2022
Tak jsem zase uvízl ve svém OCD syndromu, který mě nutí, když už jsem s tím začal, přečíst všechny česky vydané knihy Patricky Quentina (nebo tak Quentina Patricka, jak je někde psaný). Což na druhou stranu zase není takové utrpení, protože ty věci pochází z dob, kdy měli detektivky tak maximálně dvě stě stran a vlastně se v nich neřešilo nic nepodstatného, jen vraždy a vášně. A jako další přišla na řadu poslední nepřečtená "dvakrátka".
Smrt na Bermudách – hlavní hrdinka přijíždí na Bermudy, aby varovala svou neteř přes svatbou s člověkem, se kterým chodila ona sama, a který je ryzí padouch. Ukáže se, že varování bylo poněkud zbytečné, protože nápadník je brzy nalezený mrtvý a motivy k zabití se množí. Zábavné na tom je, že jak je to v rodině, tak se vlastně nikdo nesnaží nic vypátrat, spíš skrývat stopy před policií a vzájemně si prokazovat alibi. Ovšem někteří lidé lžou tak, že jim fakt není pomoci. A navíc se časem objeví druhá mrtvola.
Celková zápletka je fajn, řešení sice předvídatelné, ale vykládá nalezené stopy jiným způsobem. Tady mi však přišlo, že je to věc, které by slušela větší konfrontace „rodina versus policie“. Prostě nějaké větší ohrožení. Takhle to jen tak pohodově plyne, až nakonec dojde na řešení.
Besídka hrůzy – ne, to není záznam školního představení. Besídka se říká budově, ve které dojde k podivnému úmrtí. A pak dalšímu. A dalšímu. Absolutně klasická anglická detektivka, s detektivem, který je expertem na neřešitelné záhady… čistě proto, že naprosto postrádá fantazii, takže ho ani nenapadne, že by mohlo něco jako neřešitelné záhady existovat. I přes počet mrtvol je to všechno psané s lehkým odstupem a větami jako: „klofnul ji na tvář způsobem připomínajícím racka, který na pláži objevil kus ryby pochybné kvality“. Celé je to správně neemoční a sarkastické… a, jak se zdá, že je u Quentina (ať to v tu chvíli byl kdokoliv) typické, s řešením nepřichází hlavní hrdina ani detektiv, ale vyrukuje s ním nějaká celkem nepodstatná vedlejší postava, a často spíš na základě toho, že jí to někdo řekl než s pomocí geniální dedukce. Docela zajímavé, jak se autor vyhýbá postavě geniálního... nebo aspoň dominantního detektiva. Tady se řešení záhady předává jako štafetový kolík.
Ani jedna knížka nepatří mezi pecky, spíš taková pohodová výplňovka s dobrými momenty. Což je ale pořád víc, než se dá říct o spoustě moderních kriminálek.
Smrt na Bermudách – hlavní hrdinka přijíždí na Bermudy, aby varovala svou neteř přes svatbou s člověkem, se kterým chodila ona sama, a který je ryzí padouch. Ukáže se, že varování bylo poněkud zbytečné, protože nápadník je brzy nalezený mrtvý a motivy k zabití se množí. Zábavné na tom je, že jak je to v rodině, tak se vlastně nikdo nesnaží nic vypátrat, spíš skrývat stopy před policií a vzájemně si prokazovat alibi. Ovšem někteří lidé lžou tak, že jim fakt není pomoci. A navíc se časem objeví druhá mrtvola.
Celková zápletka je fajn, řešení sice předvídatelné, ale vykládá nalezené stopy jiným způsobem. Tady mi však přišlo, že je to věc, které by slušela větší konfrontace „rodina versus policie“. Prostě nějaké větší ohrožení. Takhle to jen tak pohodově plyne, až nakonec dojde na řešení.
Besídka hrůzy – ne, to není záznam školního představení. Besídka se říká budově, ve které dojde k podivnému úmrtí. A pak dalšímu. A dalšímu. Absolutně klasická anglická detektivka, s detektivem, který je expertem na neřešitelné záhady… čistě proto, že naprosto postrádá fantazii, takže ho ani nenapadne, že by mohlo něco jako neřešitelné záhady existovat. I přes počet mrtvol je to všechno psané s lehkým odstupem a větami jako: „klofnul ji na tvář způsobem připomínajícím racka, který na pláži objevil kus ryby pochybné kvality“. Celé je to správně neemoční a sarkastické… a, jak se zdá, že je u Quentina (ať to v tu chvíli byl kdokoliv) typické, s řešením nepřichází hlavní hrdina ani detektiv, ale vyrukuje s ním nějaká celkem nepodstatná vedlejší postava, a často spíš na základě toho, že jí to někdo řekl než s pomocí geniální dedukce. Docela zajímavé, jak se autor vyhýbá postavě geniálního... nebo aspoň dominantního detektiva. Tady se řešení záhady předává jako štafetový kolík.
Ani jedna knížka nepatří mezi pecky, spíš taková pohodová výplňovka s dobrými momenty. Což je ale pořád víc, než se dá říct o spoustě moderních kriminálek.
February 18, 2022
A twisty, suspenseful mystery filled with gorgeous writing and wry humor that kept me guessing until the end. There are some outdated ideas about women and relationships, but I suppose that's to be expected from a book published in 1931. All in all, a good read with a satisfying ending. Recommended for fans of the British Golden Age of Detective Fiction who have already read everything by Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers.
Just a sidenote: This book has absolutely nothing to do with "how the American people lived and worked, spanned a continent, and achieved world power." I have no idea why Goodreads is showing this as its subtitle. It's wrong.
Just a sidenote: This book has absolutely nothing to do with "how the American people lived and worked, spanned a continent, and achieved world power." I have no idea why Goodreads is showing this as its subtitle. It's wrong.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews