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Inspector Richardson #4
The Case of the Dead Diplomat
He flung open a drawer and took from it a heavy dagger in a sheath with blood-stains upon it. On the blade were engraved the words, "Blut und Ehre!" Frank Everett was a rising young press attaché at the British Embassy in Paris - until he was found dead in his Rue St. Georges apartment, a knife wound to the throat. Was it a political assassination, a crime passionnel, or possibly even suicide?The foreign office call in the redoubtable Detective Inspector Richardson, who travels to Paris and must work with the French police in solving the case. He soon discovers that a mysterious coded number is one of the primary clues - if only he can decipher its meaning and unmask Everett's assassin.The Case of the Dead Diplomat was originally published in 1935. This new edition, the first in many decades, features an introduction by crime novelist Martin Edwards, author of acclaimed genre history The Golden Age of Murder."Good entertainment as well as a perfectly sound detective story." Daily Telegraph"The story is remarkably well written…highly entertaining reading." Birmingham Gazette
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1935
About the author
Basil Thomson
87 books16 followersSir Basil Home Thomson, KCB (21 April 1861 – 26 March 1939) was a British intelligence officer, police officer, prison governor, colonial administrator, and writer.
abridged from Wikipedia
abridged from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 10, 2018
This is the weakest Inspector Richardson. There is not a lot of real detection although Sergeant Cooper is allowed a leading role.
Too much guying of the French police and political system in a rather xenophobic way which I found tiresome in the repetition.
Too much guying of the French police and political system in a rather xenophobic way which I found tiresome in the repetition.
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January 16, 2018One common flaw in detective series is the strewing of garlands (by which I mean not the decoration of graves, but the ladening of the detective with compliments). This series is rather prone to people being thoroughly impressed by Richardson, but it adds an extra layer here of Richardson being compared to an ambitious French police official.
Otherwise, this is the usual methodical collection of evidence.
Otherwise, this is the usual methodical collection of evidence.
March 13, 2019
An interesting police procedural spoiled by the constant running down of the French police. First published in 1935.
May 22, 2023
A British diplomat serving in France is found murdered. Rather than leave it in the hands of the French police alone, the embassy seeks a representative of Scotland Yard to assist. The man they send is Insp. Richardson.
This is the fourth in the Richardson series. When readers meet him in the first book, he is but a patrolman, but one with quick thinking who not only assists the investigators but also impresses the police leadership. Reading that first book, I was very impressed with the writing and declared it one of the best police procedurals I've read. It was good, especially for the mystery that was written in the 1930s. The book was a solid mystery and I was eager to have the final bit of evidence laid out at the end to see if I had solved the case along with Richardson. The one thing that bothered me at that time is that it seemed to finish a bit too cleanly. Real life rarely does that but for a story, it was OK.
The next two followed suit. And then came this story and I was stumped. Richardson has apparently developed a bit of a swelled head and Thomson writes as if the French police are pompous asses! As others have found, I discovered this to be perhaps the weakest of the stories and frankly, a bit confusing. In the end it's almost a mystery that the police, Richardson included, discovered the real reason for the murder. There are clever bits to the story but I have to say that while it was fun to read and interesting, there was quite a bit of the framing that was a disappointment. And considering that Thomson has the background leading the Metropolitan Police CID during World War I, I was even more surprised at all the running around and the general silliness (I began to wonder if it was Thomson attempting humor). I hope that the next four in the series are stronger in story line.
This is the fourth in the Richardson series. When readers meet him in the first book, he is but a patrolman, but one with quick thinking who not only assists the investigators but also impresses the police leadership. Reading that first book, I was very impressed with the writing and declared it one of the best police procedurals I've read. It was good, especially for the mystery that was written in the 1930s. The book was a solid mystery and I was eager to have the final bit of evidence laid out at the end to see if I had solved the case along with Richardson. The one thing that bothered me at that time is that it seemed to finish a bit too cleanly. Real life rarely does that but for a story, it was OK.
The next two followed suit. And then came this story and I was stumped. Richardson has apparently developed a bit of a swelled head and Thomson writes as if the French police are pompous asses! As others have found, I discovered this to be perhaps the weakest of the stories and frankly, a bit confusing. In the end it's almost a mystery that the police, Richardson included, discovered the real reason for the murder. There are clever bits to the story but I have to say that while it was fun to read and interesting, there was quite a bit of the framing that was a disappointment. And considering that Thomson has the background leading the Metropolitan Police CID during World War I, I was even more surprised at all the running around and the general silliness (I began to wonder if it was Thomson attempting humor). I hope that the next four in the series are stronger in story line.
April 15, 2019
This is a short British police procedural crime novel written and set in the mid 1930's. A young diplomat at the British Embassy in Paris dies in suspicious circumstances. The Ambassador fears the French press will turn the incident into a political scandal. He asks Scotland Yard to send detectives to Paris to "assist" the French police. Inspector Richardson and his sergeant Cooper are on the next boat train to France.
It's a cleverly plotted story, although I found it a tedious read at times due to a wordy writing style, that often turned pompous. Ignoring this distraction, the underlying story is good with several interesting characters to occupy the detectives' time. There's some amusing red herrings, like the mysterious set of photos of zoo animals.
The French police and press are ridiculed throughout the book. It's difficult to say whether this was intentional or just a casual demonstration of the then current British attitude towards France. The English police constantly contrast French police methods with those of their own, which are of course the superior ones.
I found Detective Sergeant Cooper's role more interesting than Inspector Richardson. Cooper went undercover posing as a wealthy French Canadian (someone from the "French colony in Quebec") with the need to dress extravagantly and speak French like it was spoken in the 18th Century. (An unexplained casual knock against French Canadians?). The French inspector Bigot is portrayed as an ambitious buffoon, who is supported admirably by Charles Verneuil, a former naval officer turned detective. Verneuil and the Scotland Yard detectives make a great team. The characters that inhabit the British Embassy represent the dandies of the Foreign Office to good effect.
There's an Introduction to the book written by Martin Edwards which is a helpful piece of background to both the author and the story.
In the final analysis, this is an enjoyable police procedural from the Golden Age of crime fiction that is well worth wading through its wordiness.
It's a cleverly plotted story, although I found it a tedious read at times due to a wordy writing style, that often turned pompous. Ignoring this distraction, the underlying story is good with several interesting characters to occupy the detectives' time. There's some amusing red herrings, like the mysterious set of photos of zoo animals.
The French police and press are ridiculed throughout the book. It's difficult to say whether this was intentional or just a casual demonstration of the then current British attitude towards France. The English police constantly contrast French police methods with those of their own, which are of course the superior ones.
I found Detective Sergeant Cooper's role more interesting than Inspector Richardson. Cooper went undercover posing as a wealthy French Canadian (someone from the "French colony in Quebec") with the need to dress extravagantly and speak French like it was spoken in the 18th Century. (An unexplained casual knock against French Canadians?). The French inspector Bigot is portrayed as an ambitious buffoon, who is supported admirably by Charles Verneuil, a former naval officer turned detective. Verneuil and the Scotland Yard detectives make a great team. The characters that inhabit the British Embassy represent the dandies of the Foreign Office to good effect.
There's an Introduction to the book written by Martin Edwards which is a helpful piece of background to both the author and the story.
In the final analysis, this is an enjoyable police procedural from the Golden Age of crime fiction that is well worth wading through its wordiness.
August 30, 2019
Rating between 3 & 3.5
As with the other novels in the series this is well written and very easy to read. In the main the characters were interesting and well described.
It must have been an unusual experiment in the late 1930’s to show Scotland Yard detectives being sent abroad to aid a foreign country’s police where the murder victim was British. And I can see why readers at the time would have been very interested in that aspect of the story.
I think the real work experience of the author really showed in this story and he brought the embassy staff to live very well. I wonder how the ambassador would have fared a few years later when WW2 started?
The actual mystery itself though I found very slight and not really as engaging as the previous novels. The main highlight was probably showing the willingness of Richardson to have his sergeant, who was fluent in french, to run an undercover mission on his own and do a very good job of it.
Overall then an okay read but possibly the weakest story of the first four, however it was a nice insight into the french police and embassy life in late 1930’s France. I would recommend it but possibly not as the first one to read.
As with the other novels in the series this is well written and very easy to read. In the main the characters were interesting and well described.
It must have been an unusual experiment in the late 1930’s to show Scotland Yard detectives being sent abroad to aid a foreign country’s police where the murder victim was British. And I can see why readers at the time would have been very interested in that aspect of the story.
I think the real work experience of the author really showed in this story and he brought the embassy staff to live very well. I wonder how the ambassador would have fared a few years later when WW2 started?
The actual mystery itself though I found very slight and not really as engaging as the previous novels. The main highlight was probably showing the willingness of Richardson to have his sergeant, who was fluent in french, to run an undercover mission on his own and do a very good job of it.
Overall then an okay read but possibly the weakest story of the first four, however it was a nice insight into the french police and embassy life in late 1930’s France. I would recommend it but possibly not as the first one to read.
May 27, 2021
#4 in Thomson's Golden Age novels featuring Inspector Richardson. This book was originally published in 1935. In Paris, an English Diplomat is stabbed in the throat with a knife like those given to the Hitler Youth. Inspector Richardson and Cooper are sent to Paris to work with the Paris police on solving the crime. The investigation is overly complex and perhaps impeded by the French detective in charge of the 9th Arrondisement who wishes to make the outcome advantageous to his own advancement. His second in command provides far more assistance to the British police during the investigation. There is a wonderfully hilarious 'dress up' of Cooper as a very rich man of leisure in order to trap some of the criminals involved. As usual, Richardson solves multiple cases at one go!
[For those having seen Jojo's Rabbit, what immediately leapt to mind when reading of the murder weapon was "No stabbing! no stabbing!"]
[For those having seen Jojo's Rabbit, what immediately leapt to mind when reading of the murder weapon was "No stabbing! no stabbing!"]
December 4, 2016
A bit of a romp, this time contrasting British and French policing methods. It is surprising that an author who was an English public figure could/would publish stories that are so critical of his French counterparts and so close to nationalist stereotypes (English detection is based on evidence, French on surmise, patronage and force.)
He still spins a good yarn and Inspector Robinson develops as a character.
He still spins a good yarn and Inspector Robinson develops as a character.
June 29, 2018
I'm enjoying the adventures of inspector Richardson. A Scotland Yard lawman as designed by a former Scotland Yard man. That's something. It's not only a good example of Golden Age crime story, but an interesting account of an era and old methods of solving crimes. The author's biography gives credibility to the narrative. There are eight books, I think, and I intend to read them all. So far so good.
May 10, 2018
Once again Richardson is in France solving crime. Since he's not there officially nothing happens for 80% of the book except far, far, far too much of Thompson's 'witty' comments re the ineptitude of French police all of which are 1. xenophobic, 2. boring and 3. off-putting.
July 4, 2018
Another readable mystery. I had some of the puzzle worked out fairly early but I still enjoyed watching it all unravel. There’s not quite as much to these as to a Sayers or similar but it’s definitely a similar enough feel that they’d make a good “if you like...” suggestion.
March 5, 2023
Have enjoyed Basil Thomson's books very much but left this one til last due to other reviews , and have to say I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as his others .
Disappointing, indifferent story line .
Disappointing, indifferent story line .
September 15, 2024
This must be the e-book version.
Good police procedural. Richardson was even more in the background in this one, directing the action and cajoling management for time and money to do it right so they could get a conviction.
Good police procedural. Richardson was even more in the background in this one, directing the action and cajoling management for time and money to do it right so they could get a conviction.
June 2, 2020
Not for me
November 9, 2017
Connie
As expected good Victorian Mystery!!!!!!! Easy reading but who dun it not so easy to figure out!!!! Typical of this kind of mystery
As expected good Victorian Mystery!!!!!!! Easy reading but who dun it not so easy to figure out!!!! Typical of this kind of mystery
December 11, 2016
Yet another very well-written and well-edited book from Basil Thomson. It is truly a pleasure to read such books when so many ebooks are neither. In this book, a press attache at the British Embassy n Paris has been murdered in his flat. The French newspapers are having a field day and in the absence of any knowledge, print outrageous stories. The Ambassador is concerned that the journalists will print ever-more incredible stories and doesn't have much confidence in the French Police, so calls for officers from Scotland Yard to "assist". Thomson obviously doesn't have much time for the French, but the comparison between French and British police work is not as biased as it could have been, and is really well depicted. Inspector Richardson and Sergeant Cooper duly arrive in France and with great tact, set to work with their French counterparts. There are various promising leads to follow, until finally with a mixture of Richardson's and Cooper's work and attention to detail, and the interrogations of the French police, the various miscreants are caught, and so is the murderer. This is not my favourite Inspector Richardson book, but I did enjoy it, and will probably re-read it again at some time. I mean, when you come across little gems like this: "His eyes were shrewd and humorous; a sarcastic twist of the lips might convert his humour into winged darts of satire", how could you not keep reading? This book is definitely worth reading.
January 13, 2017
Great police procedural..
Enjoyed this book greatly. It was a look into the difference's with the French police & English. One thing is evident the English were much more civilized, even from american standards. The characters are easy to be believed as being real people its written so well.
Enjoyed this book greatly. It was a look into the difference's with the French police & English. One thing is evident the English were much more civilized, even from american standards. The characters are easy to be believed as being real people its written so well.
July 22, 2016
Most interesting too..
October 13, 2016
Very good piece of work
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews