Information Received

Bobby Owen Mysteries #1

by E.R. Punshon

In his London townhouse, city magnate Sir Christopher Clarke is found lying murdered. At the other end of the house his safe hangs open and rifled, and earlier in the day he had visited his solicitors in order to make a drastic change in his will. Later it is discovered that there has been fraud connected with the dead man, and this is but one of the many complications with which Superintendent Mitchell is faced. Fortunately he has the assistance of young Constable Owen, a talented young Oxford graduate who, finding all other careers closed to him by the ‘economic blizzard’ of the early thirties, has joined the London Police force.

Information Received is the first of E.R. Punshon’s acclaimed Bobby Owen mysteries, first published in 1933 and the start of a series which eventually spanned thirty-five novels.

This edition features a new introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature, 20th Century, Golden Age Mystery, Mystery Thriller

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Aka Robertson Halket.

E.R. Punshon (Ernest Robertson Punshon) (1872-1956) was an English novelist and literary critic of the early 20th century. He also wrote under the pseudonym Robertson Halket. Primarily writing on crime and deduction, he enjoyed some literary success in the 1930s and 1940s. Today, he is remembered, in the main, as the creator of Police Constable Bobby Owen, the protagonist of many of Punshon's novels. He reviewed many of Agatha Christie's novels for The Guardian on their first publication.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1933, this is the first in the series, featuring Constable Bobby Owen. Bobby Owen is a young man who emerged from Oxford in the depression of the early thirties and, looking for a career, has joined the police force. Disappointingly, so far, he has been mainly helping old ladies cross the road, or giving directions. However, he finds himself on the spot when Sir Christopher Clarke is found murdered in his London home - while his safe has been robbed. Just that day, Sir Christopher had visited his lawyers to collect some paper for a Trust he was responsible for, while planning to change his will. Now he lies dead and there are plenty of motives, and suspects, in this interesting mystery.

Owen may not have the best degree and be just a lowly constable, but he is keen and, before long, is very involved in the investigation, being run by Superintendent Mitchell. Indeed, so often is Owen on the spot, that Mitchell drily bets his colleagues that the young constable will be on the scene, at one point in the story. I liked both Owen and Mitchell and the author sets a good scene, with lots of potential for his main character to progress. Indeed, Dorothy L. Sayers herself gave this a great review, and who am I to argue with the creator of the great Lord Peter Wimsey. This is a series I look forward to continuing with anticipation.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

...when you have got the truth, everything fits. I think that's the main test of truth. It fits, it makes a harmony, one pattern all through. (Bobby Owen; p. 241)
Information Received (1933) by E. R. Punshon

Constable Bobby Owen is three years in the force and getting a bit bored with the routine duties of walking a beat. But all that is about to change as he waits about on a Hampstead street for his sergeant to meet up with him. In quick succession, the butler of "the Cedars," the imposing home of Sir Christopher Clarke, comes out and tells him to watch out for elderly, grey-whiskered man with a grudge against Clarke; a sandy-bearded gent comes along and evinces great interest in the Cedars; a ruckus erupts in the neighboring yard when a young man goes running through (initially thought to be an apple thief); and then a man comes out of the French window at Sir Christopher's house and cries "Murder!"

Owens enters the billiard room and finds that Sir Christopher himself has been shot twice in the chest...and the weapon is nowhere to be found. At the other end of the house, Sir Christopher's safe is found wide open and a bundle of easily-negotiated securities and a cache of diamonds is missing. Are the two things related? It seems unreasonable that the thief would have come all the way through the house to try and escape after the robbery, run into Sir Christopher, and decided to shoot him? But, then, is it reasonable to think that a robbery and a murder just happened to occur at practically the same time in the same house? To further complicate the case, the securities that are missing had just come home with Sir Christopher that day. They were the bulk of a trust fund that Clarke was a trustee for...and his lawyers had held the funds. It seems that there may have been some hanky-panky going on with the accounts and rumors of fraud are running amok. Perhaps Clarke was killed to prevent the fraud from being discovered? And who has been sending Sir Christopher tickets to the latest revival of Shakespeare's Hamlet (three sets of tickets over several days)? And why did the sight of them make Clarke so afraid?

Owens secures the scene of the murder and reports to his superiors and soon Superintendent Mitchell from Scotland Yard is on the case. He takes a shine to the young constable and the two begin gathering information about Sir Christopher's relations--Jennie and Brenda, his daughter and step-daughter, respectively, and their young men: Peter Carsley, who not only is a partner in the law firm in question but who is also secretly married to Jennie (quite against her father's wishes--thus the secret), and Mark Lester, who is Brenda's approved suitor. They also take an interest in various others, like Basil Marsden, the other partner in the law firm, who initially admits to Carsley that there has been a bit of fraud going on but then denies it categorically after the murder. There's Doctor Gregory, Clarke's doctor, who had "just happened" to stop by the Cedars on the night of the murder and discovered the body. Not to mention the two mysterious gentlemen who had been loitering in the neighborhood as well. Oh...and what became of Mr. Belfort, the man to whom Clarke was going to turn over the trust securities that very night?

After a great deal of dogged footwork on the part of Owens (some sanctioned and some not--though Mitchell appreciates a man with initiative) and Mitchell looking into all the things he declares "will bear some looking into," the two men solve half the puzzle. But it isn't until the right Information has been Received that all the pieces fall into place.

This was the first E. R. Punshon novel I've ever read and an excellent debut novel for Bobby Owens. Punshon tells a right good story and he put things over on me good and proper. I was absolutely certain that I knew who the culprit was as soon as they walked on scene for a goodish bit. I was sortof right, but Punshon takes the story and gives it a good shake and it wound up that I had the right answer to the wrong question. If only I had picked up on that one clue that was staring me in the face throughout the entire book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Owen and Mitchell. The Superintendent takes the younger man under his wing--without him really knowing it. He wants to test him to see if he's got the stuff good detectives are made of, but Bobby is never sure if the test is working out until the very end. It's interesting to watch the young detective tentatively stand up for his ideas but never sure if he's being well-received. At one point he's given 24-hours leave--reportedly for the hard work of the previous few days, but he's not sure it isn't to get him out of the super's hair. But his detective's instincts drive him to go check into things on his own and he's surprised to find that Mitchell expected him to all along. And Mitchell's pleased about it though he tries to cover it under his sardonic humor.

Overall, an excellent beginning to the series...now I just need to get my hands on the next one.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting review content. Thanks.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic Golden Age mystery with distinctive personalities and a knotty puzzle...that proves unfortunately easy to unwind about the halfway mark.
But I did thoroughly enjoy it. Lots of great lines and fun moments. I want to keep following the adventures of Bobby Owen...the detective with the knack for being in the right place at the right time.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Golden Age mystery is the first in a long series featuring Bobby Owen. Owen has joined the police as a last resort, having gained only a pass degree from Oxford, and finding no other suitable jobs open to him. He happens to be on the spot when Sir Christopher Clarke is found shot dead in his billiard room, and comes to the attention of Superintendent Mitchell who is called to investigate. Clarke's safe has also been broken into, and some diamonds and important documents are missing. Hoping for a possible move to CID, Owen throws himself into assisting Mitchell and following up his own hunches as well.

This mystery contains lots of the elements you would expect to find in an example of the genre - family secrets, mysterious strangers, sinister lawyer - along with a twisting plot covering robbery and murder. The budding professional partnership between the garrulous Superintendent Mitchell and the eager young recruit Bobby Owen is charming and amusing.

The plot tension builds to an exciting confrontation, but the method the author then chooses to reveal the whole solution is a bit long winded and flat (although the solution itself is satisfying enough). Still, it was no worse than some of the 'detective in the drawing room' summing up scenes used by other GA authors, and overall didn't spoil my enjoyment. I would just have preferred the drama of the confrontation to be carried on a bit further.

I'll definitely be reading on to find out where Owen and Mitchell go next, and if all the books in the series are as good as this one, there's a lot of fun ahead!

[Wend · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5* A new author to me, enjoyed more than I was expecting.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last month I read Death Among The Sunbathers, the 2nd book in Punshon's Bobby Owen series. I liked it enough that I knew I wanted to read more in the series. Going back to the introduction of the character was made simple when it was offered free.

The book opens with Owen a mere Constable, what I assume is a beat cop in the US. While he is waiting his relief, he is called to the house across the street, where a man is lying on the floor in the billiard room, dead of 2 gunshot wounds to the chest. Owen is shown into the study to phone for assistance, where he discovers the safe open and empty. Is this two crimes committed by the same person, or perhaps there were two criminals in the house this evening?

This is a golden age mystery by an author I had not heard of until recently. The writing is quite good and there is more characterization than one might expect for the genre. I have been lucky enough to get five more in the series at no cost. Now all I have to do is find a place in a challenge for them! This is quite good, though perhaps not 4-stars good, which would be my top rating for the genre. Can I give a "shiny" 3-stars?

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please start reading this wonderfully well-written series. After tackling a few randomly, I am now making my way through them in order.They can be read and enjoyed as stand-alone but then you miss the development of Bobby as a detective and later his relationship with Olive. I cannot understand why these so literate works of detection have fallen out of favour and bless Dean Street Press for reviving them with the help of Curtis Evans.

[Susan in NC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likable characters, good mystery, just went on a bit too long and I lost interest. I skimmed ahead over the last few chapters to the end. I will read further books in the series, though, as I really enjoyed the interplay between the young Constable Owen and Inspector Mitchell.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bobby Owen is a police constable who finds his job rather boring, so he is excited when he is actually present at the scene of a murder. He finds himself helping Superintendant Mitchell to solve the baffling crime. This is a fairly enjoyable mystery. Bobby Owen himself is not a particularly interesting character - an amiable young man who joined the police force because he didn’t get a good enough university degree to do anything else. Supeintendant Mitchell is a much more vivid personality. But perhaps Owen develops as the series progresses. I didn’t find the solution entirely satisfactory - instead of an arrest we get a very long written confession which rambles on for several chapters. However, it was enjoyable enough and I will probably read more in this series.

[Andrea]

First in a series with an Oxford educated police officer (starting here as a constable). Bobby Owens is more hardworking young man than brilliant Oxford don, but he's got enough personality to at least make you want him to succeed.

There's two intersecting crimes in the story that seem fairly obvious on their own, but certainly confuse issues together. Will check out further entries in series.

[Lorena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning that this author was highly recommended by Dorothy L. Sayers gave me the nudge to give this series a try. There are some very promising elements in this opening book, and I'm interested to give some of the subsequent titles a try.

[C.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening sentence of "Information Received" is a whole 10-line paragraph. Each chapter has a title, with a pretty lines-&-leaves archway above it. Welcome back to literature before Hemingway & Hurston, when English (like Greek) comprised separate written & spoken forms. In its prose, in its lofty country-house & Lincoln's Inn settings, in the distinguished personages who inhabit them, & even in the feudal friction between ranks in the police force, "Information Received" is as vivid a showcase for the British class system as "Downton Abbey."

Unwrapping the layers of E. R. Punshon's prose to find his plot (and quite an intricate and fast-moving plot it is) can feel like forking through the filo in a spanakopita. What 21st-century publisher could resist red-penciling this first sentence of Chapter VIII, The Heiress?:

"Not without a certain emotion, for it seemed to them both it might be the solution of the mystery that was approaching them. the veteran Superintendent, the youthful constable, watched as Peter came quickly across the hall."

As with a good spanakopita, though, flavor triumphs over form. This is, after all, 1934. Though the characters are all white & mostly male, they're distinctive & interesting, & there's plenty of dialogue -- informal spoken English -- to keep them (& the reader) zipping along. Halfway through the book we even have a sort of car chase, at the breathtaking speed of 40 mph. From the first hint of mystery on p. 1, when Sir Charles Clarke's lawyer baffles him by delivering a stranger's gift of 2 theatre tickets, we careen through a suspenseful classic-English landscape of fraud & embezzlement, romance & betrayal, burglary & murder.

I enjoyed "Information Received" enough to devour it in one sitting. I'm not sure it would have been as much fun to step in & out of Punshon's world & re-acclimate all over again. And although I'm curious to see what Constable Bobby Owen & Superintendent Mitchell get up to next, I doubt I'll seek out the rest of the series: as with Downton Abbey & Harry Potter, one thrilling episode is probably enough.

[Rebecca Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable old mystery

I love the old mysteries. No vulgar words. Not explicit sex. Just a good old fashioned mystery. That's what this book is.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

So ...a while back I read some good reviews about this author and this series. I also have a fondness for golden age, as in clue based mysteries, although I sometimes find them, lets just say overly complicated. Too many suspects, too many twists, too much thought put into the murder. Or simply, maybe just too much plot twisting by the author.

So ...why have I put off reading this book for as long as I have. Shamelessly, I just didn't like the cover art for this series ...shallow ...I know.

So ...you learn. Sometimes, thing you already know ...like 'don't judge a book by it's cover.'

I really found it a great read. This is the first book and Bobby Owens the protagonist is still a little cardboard-ish, a little too straight and narrow and kind of naive. The inspector however is a wise curmudgeon-y delight. The plotting is great ...complicated but great, nevertheless.

So ...no problem what-so-ever recommending this book, especially for those who enjoy golden-age, British style mysteries. For them, highly recommended.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another new author from the Golden Age of Crime that recently came to my intention only recently. PC Bobby Owen is a university graduate who chose a life in the police rather than business but do query why Punshon chooses to describe as Bobby because it's sounds as though he should be in the Famous Five. The book is interestingly plotted and deals with financier Sir Christopher Clarke murdered on the day his daughter Jennie had secretly married Peter Carsley, a co-partner in an investment firm. Carsley had quit his partnership with Basil Marsden only to discover he had embezzled Clarke's money. The murder and a burglary in Clarke's house made Carsley a likely suspect. Bobby Owen is first on the spot and given a chance to investigate when he impresses legendary Superintendent Mitchell. Owen is believably on the spot when all significant clues are left but my only gripe is that the finale is tied up a little too neatly.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rich Sir Christopher Clarke is shot dead in his billiard room, while the safe in his study lies open and empty. PC Bobby Owen, on duty at the gate, inveigles himself off the beat and into the CID’s investigation.

This is the first in the Bobby Owen series of mysteries by E R Punshon, who had a sudden hit with it after churning out other genre fiction in the past. Dorothy Sayers gave it a rave review, and from the introduction to this edition it sounds like Punshon and his publishers were amazed – so am I. It’s enjoyable, but I thought the criminals gave themselves away again and again by their words and reactions, so there were few surprises. But there was more atmosphere and characterization to it than in most lesser-known Golden Age mysteries.

[Karen Plummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the era of classic British mysteries and I had never heard of E.R. Punshon before so this was a real treat. Interesting characters and a very complex puzzle to solve. The ending was a disappointment, but otherwise, I enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading more from Punshon. Bobby Owen has the makings of a great detective!

[Phyllis Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed discovering this author. Will certainly be following his books.

Really enjoyed discovering this author. Will certainly be looking f more of his books. A thoroughly good read. Thank you

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Sir Christopher Clarke has been murdered. Superintendent Mitchell has help from young Constable Owen.

[Laura Hannaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable first instalment to the Bobby Owen series. The plot was excellent, the characters interesting and the writing top notch. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

[David Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some strange reason I’d never heard of the author prior to listening to a recent episode of the Podcast, Shedunnit, in which Caroline Crampton was discussing Golden Age police detectives. Among the authors she sites are the great ECR Lorac, Margery Allingham, Christianna Brand, Freeman Wills Croft and, er, ER Punchon. ER who? It appears he had a long literary career prior to starting his series of Bobby Owen detective novels in 1933. She tells us that Owen is unusual in that he starts the series as a humble Oxford-educated police constable (in this book) and over the next 34 or so novels rises to become Commander at Scotland Yard. According to the show’s transcript “Dorothy Alcaez had a very high opinion of Punshon's detective fiction” (From Shedunnit: An Inspector Calls, 28 May 2025) and once I’d worked out the phonetic identity of this apparently Spanish author I was intrigued enough (Ms Crampton also has impeccable taste) to purchase the first ten novels as a bundle on Kindle at 99p each and I can tell you already this was money well spent.
Bobby Owen, handsome, keen and bright immediately attracts the attention of Superintendent Mitchell who is in charge of the investigation into the Cluedo-like murder of a businessman at his home in the billiard room with the revolver. Owen’s observations become vital in moving the investigation forwards and he has a great mentor in Mitchell who explains his methods and theories while constantly agreeing that Owen’s findings “bear looking into”.

‘A good detective never forgets his sandwiches,’ he said. ‘That’s the first law of all sound detective work – don’t forget the sandwiches. We may have to wait there all day.’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Bobby, rather dispiritedly.
‘Just as well,’ observed Mitchell, ‘that they always put me up enough for two.’
‘Do they, sir?’ said Bobby hopefully.
‘That’s because,’ explained Mitchell, ‘they know I’ve an appetite for two.’
‘I see, sir,’ said Bobby, less hopefully this time.

‘If you want a man to talk, and he don’t,’ Mitchell continued, ‘then, if you keep it up long enough, about the weather and what’ll win, and what possessed the Arsenal directors to pick the team they did last Saturday, or, if it’s a woman, about how well she’s looking and how wonderfully her hat suits her and isn’t Greta Garbo just lovely and is it true Ronald Colman’s eyelashes are artificial – then in the end they’ll start talking, too. Talk, my boy, has loosened more tongues than anything else, except, perhaps, champagne, and do you think you could get champagne for suspects through an expenses list?’
‘I don’t, sir,’ said Bobby.
‘Then you talk and they’ll talk and so it all comes out. Of course, you have to have a kind of natural gift for talk. I have,’ added the Superintendent modestly.
‘Yes, sir,’ agreed Bobby.
Mitchell looked at him suspiciously. ‘I suppose someone told you,’ he remarked. ‘After all, there’s only one way to get to know things and that is to wait till someone who knows already comes and tells you. That’s the first maxim in my forthcoming book, The Complete Detective and How to Be It, which will be one of the world’s lost masterpieces because I’ll never write it. But remember that – talk and it shall be talked unto you.’

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting one, and I can imagine a lot of readers not particularly caring for it. Me, I'm always trying to find new series that maybe were left by the wayside over the vagaries of time, but are still worth reading, and this fellow apparently wrote 30 of 'em before succumbing to old age, so I was eager to sample it.

It's a mixed bag: some stuff is terrific, other stuff not so much so. I like the actual writing, the quality of the sentences, and the tone. It was a bit akimbo, if you know what I mean, not quite right, with an odd dreamlike quality that put me in mind of The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien, though the twists and turns of that book are not remotely what happen here. (And what's justifiably odd in the O'Brien book have no justification here).

Policemen seem to be content to drift along, rarely interviewing suspects or gathering evidence as we would expect them to do, rather they watch (every suspect seems to be followed by numerous, hidden police) to see what will happen. It's the opposite of detecting, it's very strange. Major characters (or, rather, characters who ought to be major) are barely seen. One longs for the comfort of chapter after chapter interviewing new suspects, sharing scenarios with a sidekick, then gathering everyone for a reveal, but no, this book forges its own path.

It's very odd. But I liked the main character, and I liked the writing, so I stuck with it. It stayed odd, but I'm not entirely against that, even though I think some of the solution is ludicrous and not thought through on the author's part because it couldn't work. I think some of the oddness is because it is less a detective mystery, as we're now used to, and more of a suspense thriller, akin to Mary Roberts Rinehart, say, or Ethel Lina White.

So I will happily read book #2 and see if it keeps its loveable oddness or not—either way, I suppose I'll enjoy it.

(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)

[Gregory Moses · Rating 3 out of 5]

In terms of prestige, I suppose E. R. Punshon is one of the lesser luminaries of the golden age. No Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America for him. But he wrote a heck of a lot, so people must have read him then, and now, thanks to Dean Street Press, he seems to be experiencing a resurgence.

I can’t say his first novel blows me away. Bobby Owen is an engaging enough protagonist, and Superintendent Mitchell is a strong supporting character, while the suspects and side characters are well-drawn. That’s the good news.

The bad news is the mystery side of things. First of all, the whole thing is stunningly obvious, isn’t it? Did Punshon think the clue of the theater tickets was subtle? The murderer used a trick that was decrepit even in 1933 (John Dickson Carr, in a 1931 novel, made fun of it by having someone explain why it would never work), and although I get that Poirot-like deductions was not the point of the novel, the detectives are so utterly helpless throughout the whole thing that it has to end with a four chapter(!) letter from the killer confessing and giving their motives; the hero never figures it out.

[Sharla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't imagine why I've never heard of this author until now. Granted, the writing style is old-fashioned but that has never been a problem for me. I don't mind a little flowery wordiness. The interaction between Bobby and his superior, Superintendent Mitchell is enjoyable, often humorous. The plot has some depth. As quoted from the book, "The death of Sir Christopher now seemed to him as but one incident in a greater drama, some immense and tangled tragedy of the human soul, some long-drawn tale of wrong and sin and suffering . . ." The characters seem real and interesting. I found enough suspense and tension running through to keep me fully involved and wanting to read more. After a certain point I found it hard to put down. I hope this series continues to be as good.

[Don Drewniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read of a classic Golden Age detective/murder mystery novel. The first of E.R. Punshon's thirty-five Bobby Owen mystery series, it was propelled into prominence by a positive review from Dorothy L. Sayers. "What is distinction? she asked. It was to her in the case of Information Received literary distinction that was "missed by scores of competent mystery writers who can construct impeccable plots. The few who achieve step—plot or no plot—unquestioned into the first rank." She went on to say that Punshon's writings contained "that elusive something which makes them count of literature" and not just puzzle-making as so often was the case with mystery novels.

[Alaina Sloo · Rating 3 out of 5]

1930s English mystery with a good depiction of place and time and a sense of humor.

I only just discovered the Bobby Owen detective series thanks to its re-release on Kindle and I'm enjoying the characters and the mysteries. If you're looking for something to read after Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, this might be more up your alley than some of the other recently revived English mystery writers like John Bude and Freeman Wills Crofts.

Although this is not my favorite of the books in the series I've read so far, it's entertaining and it sets the stage for the main character.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I read somewhere that Dorothy Sayers admired Punshon. It’s well-written, but quite typical of its time (early 1930s). The young detective is appealing, and I’ll probably keep going with the series as long as it continues to interest me.

I do have one problem with the mystery, though, and I saw it coming from the start, when everyone agreed that Brenda was playing the piano non-stop throughout the murder: how could listeners possibly have mistaken a tinny, scratching recording such as they had at that time for live music? Impossible.

[Leila Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Punshon is another author I've recently found out when I decided to follow the thread left by the British Library Crime Classics. It was the best idea to reissue "forgotten" books/authors. I knew and liked Agatha Christie, but I had no idea there were many other good/interesting authors of detective fiction. I consider myself hooked. Some authors are better than others, and E. R. Punshon is my current favorite. I'll keep following Bobby Owen.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 1 out of 5]

A boring read about extremely boring people. A lot hangs on two theatre tickets, for Shakespeare. Businessmen and young female relatives and their boyfriends. Police investigation after a death and a will change. The tycoon's daughter is to get all his money if she is unmarried when he dies. She is of age. This control freakery towards others, particularly women, must have been acceptable in the 1930s, I suppose. Women had the vote since 1918.
I read the Penguin 1955 edition.