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The Templeton Case
A dead body is found near the estuary of a river. Here the country detective works his way throught a maze of conflicting clues and captures the murderer whithout calling in Scotland Yard.
The plot is distinctly original and is well handled. A classic worth rediscovering from the Golden Age of Detection.
The plot is distinctly original and is well handled. A classic worth rediscovering from the Golden Age of Detection.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1924
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73 people want to read
About the author
Victor L. Whitechurch
163 books17 followersVictor Lorenzo Whitechurch was born in 1868, was educated at Chichester Grammar School and Chichester Theological College and eventually became a canon of the Anglican Church, living and working for many years in the country rather than in towns and cities.
He held various positions as curate before he became vicar of St. Michael's, Blewbury in 1904. In 1913 he became Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, and an honorary canon of Christ Church and in 1918 he became Rural Dean of Aylesbury.
He began his writing career with religious works, as befitted his profession, and edited 'The Chronicle of St George' in 1891 before producing his own work 'The Course of Justice' in 1903. He wrote his first quasi-detective novel, also considered as a clerical romance, in 1904 when 'The Canon in Residence' was published and was later adapted for stage and radio.
He also contributed detective stories to the Strand Magazine, the Railway Magazine and Pearson's and Harmsworth's Magazines. Some of his railway stories were published as 'Thrilling Stories of the Railway' in 1912, 15 stories in all, nine of which feature his specialst in railway detection, Thorpe Hazell, a strict vegetarian.
After producing a variety of romantic novels, he returned to thrillers with 'The Templeton Case', 1924, and another collection of short stories on a railway and spy theme, 'The Adventures of Captain Ivan Koravitch' in 1925.
Two quite different books appeared from his pen in 1927, 'The Truth in Christ Jesus' and 'The Crime at Diana's Pool' before he devoted his final years almost solely to detective fiction, writing four further such novels between 1927 and 1932, the last of them 'Murder at the College' written after he had suffered a long and debilitating illness.
Although his thriller output was relatively low, 12 of his 27 books being of the genre, Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in their splendid 'Catalogue of Crime' wrote of him, "He was the greatest improviser in the genre - all but one of his stories has distinct merit." Ellery Queen and Dorothy L Sayers meanwhile admired his books for their "immaculate plotting and factual accuracy" believing him to be "one of the first writers to submit his manuscripts to Scotland Yard for vetting as to police procedure."
He died in 1933.
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
He held various positions as curate before he became vicar of St. Michael's, Blewbury in 1904. In 1913 he became Chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, and an honorary canon of Christ Church and in 1918 he became Rural Dean of Aylesbury.
He began his writing career with religious works, as befitted his profession, and edited 'The Chronicle of St George' in 1891 before producing his own work 'The Course of Justice' in 1903. He wrote his first quasi-detective novel, also considered as a clerical romance, in 1904 when 'The Canon in Residence' was published and was later adapted for stage and radio.
He also contributed detective stories to the Strand Magazine, the Railway Magazine and Pearson's and Harmsworth's Magazines. Some of his railway stories were published as 'Thrilling Stories of the Railway' in 1912, 15 stories in all, nine of which feature his specialst in railway detection, Thorpe Hazell, a strict vegetarian.
After producing a variety of romantic novels, he returned to thrillers with 'The Templeton Case', 1924, and another collection of short stories on a railway and spy theme, 'The Adventures of Captain Ivan Koravitch' in 1925.
Two quite different books appeared from his pen in 1927, 'The Truth in Christ Jesus' and 'The Crime at Diana's Pool' before he devoted his final years almost solely to detective fiction, writing four further such novels between 1927 and 1932, the last of them 'Murder at the College' written after he had suffered a long and debilitating illness.
Although his thriller output was relatively low, 12 of his 27 books being of the genre, Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in their splendid 'Catalogue of Crime' wrote of him, "He was the greatest improviser in the genre - all but one of his stories has distinct merit." Ellery Queen and Dorothy L Sayers meanwhile admired his books for their "immaculate plotting and factual accuracy" believing him to be "one of the first writers to submit his manuscripts to Scotland Yard for vetting as to police procedure."
He died in 1933.
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 20, 2022
If, and it is a very big "if", the reader can get past the gross and distorted depiction of a Jewish character in this novel, then what they will find is a rather surprisingly well-put-together mystery with some interesting features considering its 1924 publication date.
The investigation of the murder of the rather odd explorer, Reginald Templeton on board his hired yacht, is in the hands of D-S Colson who is characterised thus :-
"He was simply a shrewd, careful man, keenly observant, with a police training. Had he been that brilliant genius which the writer of fiction is so fond of delineating, he would, after his manner, by this time have made some supernaturally clever deduction, which would have enabled him to spot the criminal at once, and to run him down unerringly, with the additional triumph attached to it that all his colleagues, and every other person concerned, had been absolutely wrong in their suspicions. He would, probably, have adopted extraordinary disguises, kept all his clues and methods to himself, and never have given a hint of them to his superior officers, and finally have achieved that superlative climax in which he would have exclaimed, “Alone I did it!”".
Colson is also ambitious and, interestingly, not afraid to share his thoughts and theories with his shrewd and perceptive wife. He successively builds up cases against different suspects, only to have them demolished when fresh facts emerge. He is not always very subtle in his methods, and so is occasionally outsmarted, but his perseverance pays off.
As often with this author, there are some wry observations about the Anglican clergy, and there are the obligatory romances and financial skullduggeries found in detective fiction of this period.
Initially I thought this novel would be rather in the JS Fletcher mould, but the writing is fresher and clearer.
Recommendable, but with the caveat about stereotyping.
3.25 stars.
The investigation of the murder of the rather odd explorer, Reginald Templeton on board his hired yacht, is in the hands of D-S Colson who is characterised thus :-
"He was simply a shrewd, careful man, keenly observant, with a police training. Had he been that brilliant genius which the writer of fiction is so fond of delineating, he would, after his manner, by this time have made some supernaturally clever deduction, which would have enabled him to spot the criminal at once, and to run him down unerringly, with the additional triumph attached to it that all his colleagues, and every other person concerned, had been absolutely wrong in their suspicions. He would, probably, have adopted extraordinary disguises, kept all his clues and methods to himself, and never have given a hint of them to his superior officers, and finally have achieved that superlative climax in which he would have exclaimed, “Alone I did it!”".
Colson is also ambitious and, interestingly, not afraid to share his thoughts and theories with his shrewd and perceptive wife. He successively builds up cases against different suspects, only to have them demolished when fresh facts emerge. He is not always very subtle in his methods, and so is occasionally outsmarted, but his perseverance pays off.
As often with this author, there are some wry observations about the Anglican clergy, and there are the obligatory romances and financial skullduggeries found in detective fiction of this period.
Initially I thought this novel would be rather in the JS Fletcher mould, but the writing is fresher and clearer.
Recommendable, but with the caveat about stereotyping.
3.25 stars.
December 13, 2023
A Golden Age mystery. Published in1927 (?).
A man sails his boat into a small harbor on the coast of England. Comes ashore to meet with some people. Is found dead the following morning. Two clues are left - a cigar band and a walking stick. Sgt. Colon is on the case but is not sure how these two items, among others, will help him solve Templeton's murder.
Fairly enjoyable.
A man sails his boat into a small harbor on the coast of England. Comes ashore to meet with some people. Is found dead the following morning. Two clues are left - a cigar band and a walking stick. Sgt. Colon is on the case but is not sure how these two items, among others, will help him solve Templeton's murder.
Fairly enjoyable.
November 15, 2017
Actually probably 2 1/2 stars, because of the fairly overt anti-Semitism describing one of the suspects, Isaac Moss. When a man is found murdered on a small yacht, the police first think that the killer must have been living in the area. There are three men whom the police find suspicious, and a peculiar clue that points to first one, then another. And yet when the dead man turns out to be an African explorer recently returned from a long trek into the interior, it seems that there may be another reason for the murder. I will say that I figured out the culprit quite early, but perhaps I've read too many mysteries over the years.
April 13, 2022
Good,
Well laid out,plain story, written in the days before authors were taught to write two or three poor stories and interweave them.
I enjoyed this.
Well laid out,plain story, written in the days before authors were taught to write two or three poor stories and interweave them.
I enjoyed this.
January 3, 2019
Very slow to start but got better as it went on. The language is very dated and I agree with an earlier reviewer that it seemed rather amateurish at times. Sgt. Colson is a likeable character. The plot is quite interesting with a few red herrings but I did figure out who did it.
Whilst the characters in the story do not exhibit any antisemitism towards the Jewish suspect, Issac Moss, the choice of language by the author displays rampant racial stereotyping and although this reflects prevailing attitudes at the time one would have expected better of a clergyman.
Whilst the characters in the story do not exhibit any antisemitism towards the Jewish suspect, Issac Moss, the choice of language by the author displays rampant racial stereotyping and although this reflects prevailing attitudes at the time one would have expected better of a clergyman.
June 18, 2024
the templeton case: a detective story. victory l. white
Published in 1924 and set in small quiet and laid back Marsh Quay a fishing village in South Downs area of England.
The dead body of Reginald Templeton is found on his yacht in the Marsh Quay estuary the morning after his arrival. Initial clues are limited. The story follows the efforts of local Detective Sgt. Colson to piece together what happened and find the murderer starting with the 2 initial clues: a cigar band and a walking stick.
Published in 1924 and set in small quiet and laid back Marsh Quay a fishing village in South Downs area of England.
The dead body of Reginald Templeton is found on his yacht in the Marsh Quay estuary the morning after his arrival. Initial clues are limited. The story follows the efforts of local Detective Sgt. Colson to piece together what happened and find the murderer starting with the 2 initial clues: a cigar band and a walking stick.
March 13, 2022
This would have been throughly enjoyable had it not been for the anti-semitism. I don’t know if this is a thread in all of this authors books, but I won’t be in a hurry to find out.
August 26, 2025
Some time ago I read a detective story by Whitechurch, and was unimpressed. I was "stuck" for a mystery when I found this and it was surprisingly enjoyable. It's a Golden Age type, but not a fair play at the end, when the detective is given information that we can't see. However, there are some heavy hints!
A body is discovered in the cabin of a small yacht moored in a quiet village. The local detective is eager to prove his mettle and we follow him as he examines the scene, questions the locals, identifies subjects... and makes a number of mistakes. No Holmes here! But he regroups and eventually tracks down the murderer.
The style is workmanlike rather than memorable, but even minor characters have distinct personalities, so that we can't mentally drop them from our suspect list!
A body is discovered in the cabin of a small yacht moored in a quiet village. The local detective is eager to prove his mettle and we follow him as he examines the scene, questions the locals, identifies subjects... and makes a number of mistakes. No Holmes here! But he regroups and eventually tracks down the murderer.
The style is workmanlike rather than memorable, but even minor characters have distinct personalities, so that we can't mentally drop them from our suspect list!
December 16, 2022
Run of the mill yarn with the usual, period Jew baiting. If that offends you then you should probably grow some, or read other stuff.
January 20, 2023
A very fun read. No overload of characters, no super sleuth. Just a good mystery
September 12, 2025
Marked down for antisemitism.
September 10, 2025
The body of Reginald Templeton is discovered on his hired boat, moored at Marsh Quay. Detective Sergean Coulson investigates the various suspects but will he discover the culprit.
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally Published in 1924
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally Published in 1924
April 11, 2025
A bit slow and plodding. And the solution was a bit convoluted.
August 20, 2014
Another enjoyable read by this recently discovered author.
The style of writing intrigues me as I had thought there was a certain naive and amateurish quality about it. However the more I read, the more I have come to believe that it is far from the truth and the style is most clever and professional.
I confess that I did 'lose' and confuse some of the characters. Also, as someone who likes to solve the puzzle before the answers are uncovered, I failed here and am not sure that the author meant the reader to be able to prove his accusations.
For all that, a pleasant and very easy read.
Addendum.
Since writing the above I have read up about the author and found that he was born in the 1860s which perhaps the periods in which the book that I have read were set. He is hardly the new writer that I suspected!
The style of writing intrigues me as I had thought there was a certain naive and amateurish quality about it. However the more I read, the more I have come to believe that it is far from the truth and the style is most clever and professional.
I confess that I did 'lose' and confuse some of the characters. Also, as someone who likes to solve the puzzle before the answers are uncovered, I failed here and am not sure that the author meant the reader to be able to prove his accusations.
For all that, a pleasant and very easy read.
Addendum.
Since writing the above I have read up about the author and found that he was born in the 1860s which perhaps the periods in which the book that I have read were set. He is hardly the new writer that I suspected!
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October 3, 2023Not typical of the books from this era are the racial profiling of Jews. This author seems to use stereotypical / racial epithets to describe the jewish character, "Sims", aside from that ... a worthwhile read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews