Trouble is brewing for the Hoggetts and their friend Chief Inspector Macdonald in Lunesdale, deep in the Lancashire fell country. By the jagged cliffs and chilling depths of a secluded quarry pool, strange noises disturb the night, and after an architect surveying the area is nearly hoisted into the cold waters by an unseen assailant, suspicions of a cold current of crime running through the area become a matter for the police.
First published in 1949, this classic of Lake District crime fiction pairs Lorac’s evocative depictions of her beloved Lunesdale with a twisting and intelligent puzzle for Chief Inspector Macdonald.
Edith Caroline Rivett (who wrote under the pseudonyms E.C.R. Lorac, Carol Carnac, Carol Rivett, and Mary le Bourne) was a British crime writer. She was born in Hendon, Middlesex (now London). She attended the South Hampstead High School, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London.
She was a member of the Detection Club. She was a very prolific writer, having written forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second. She was an important author of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
A really delightful and engaging book. I particularly enjoyed the various (and clearly inaccurate!) theories postulated by assorted characters as they each twirled the facts to fit their own bias.
Really a 2-star mystery, but I'm feeling generous so I'm giving it a third star for sheer atmosphere/setting, and a fourth for one of the cleverest titles I've ever seen (read to find out why.)