Night's Cloak

Bobby Owen Mysteries #19

by E.R. Punshon

“I’ve got to hurry,” Bobby said. “Mr Weston has been found dead from a knife-wound in his study.”

It's not easy for a county police Inspector to handle prominent local citizens diplomatically, while getting on with the real work of crime detection. But it’s particularly hard when Bobby Owen finds himself the victim of a sinister swindle worked by a millionaire business executive. Not to mention the machinations of a radical political movement, a secretary with a puzzling alibi, and a young scientist-inventor, willing to do anything, even murder, to put his schemes into action …

Night’s Cloak was first published in 1944, the nineteenth of the Bobby Owen mysteries, a series eventually including thirty-five novels. This edition features a new introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

“What is distinction? … in the works of Mr. E.R. Punshon we salute it every time.” Dorothy L. Sayers

Genres: Mystery

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1944

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

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bobby Owen is not impressed to be summoned to the home of Weston, a businessman who is used to getting his own way. When Weston is found stabbed later, Bobby is presented with a number of possible suspects with both professional and personal motives for wanting him dead. He must untangle these before a further tragedy occurs.

This was another original and intriguing mystery from Punshon. The wartime background is a constant presence as Bobby struggles with rationing, clothing coupons and even the limitations on bath water use! On a more serious note, a bereaved father who has lost 3 sons in the war is one of the suspects as he is determined to sweep away the old political and economic order, and the story culminates in a rather terrifying pursuit where the blackout hampers Bobby’s progress.

Punshon introduces some rather interesting characters into a potentially restricted setting, including four forceful and determined female characters who are more than a match for the men. This story kept me guessing right up to the appearance of a key clue near the end, and had the mixture of comedy and darkness that I’ve come to expect from Punshon.

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

I like Punshon's writing style and I very much like Bobby Owens as a character. I don't especially like politics mixed up with a mystery. In this case, it was the macro-economics of communism versus capitalism. Punshon makes it a good guy versus bad guy. He tried to mix us up thinking the murder was for politically economic reasons. Or at least that was one of Bobby's theories, and I could have done without it.

There were other reasons to not be enamored with this. 3-stars, but probably toward to the bottom of that group.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good story from Punshon. A fairly typical English Country House Murder of an unpleasant and controlling, wealthy industrialist. Lots of suspects, all of whom had a good reason to wish to wish him out of the way. Excellent characterisations of everyone concerned. I particularly liked Hargreaves, the butler, always worried about his place and the fact that there are a lot of very strong female protagonists in this story. As usual Bobby Owen is very likeable and the author cleverly shows his human side with a light trace of wit. I am enjoying this series immensely.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This starts with Bobby being summoned to a Mr Weston house. Mr Weston being a wealthy owner of a local business and a man who enjoys that position. When Bobby arrives he is told to wait and during this time, hears the end of an argument between Weston and one of his relatives. He also meets the local barmaid, and Weston's secretary, a Miss Rowe. The next morning Bobby is called back to the house, as Mr Weston has been found to have been stabbed to death in front of an open safe. We then meet a lot of other characters who are interested in Weston's will.
At first the number of characters did somewhat swamp me but as time went on I was able to distinguish between them. Most seemed to have an alibi for the time that the murder took place and of course Bobby has to prove them with many people not cooperating. It would seem that Mr Weston was quite a ladies man, and there is talk of illegitimate children.
I did find this book to be rather repetitive at times, but that still left it a very interesting mystery.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I confess to being a lover of the early twentieth century era of crime fiction. This book, published in 1944, with interesting use made of wartime restrictions, hampering the police investigations. The large number of characters/suspects was a little confusing early on, but all unfolds in time. Basically a country house whodunnit. A Well written story, which keeps up the pace throughout. A refreshing change to find the lead detective is not from the usual ‘gentleman – upper crust’ class of many other books of the time. Well worth a read.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much against his will, Inspector Bobby Owen is summoned to visit Mr. Weston, the local grandee. The visit is full of slightly disturbing encounters : Miss Rowe, Mr Weston's spectacular secretary, is walking in the darkness near the house, talking to an unknown man. Bessie, the buxom barmaid, is lurking in a waiting room. Martin Weston, Mr. Weston's airplane-obsessed nephew, is seen stalking out of the house after a flaming row. And Mr. Weston himself is unbearably condescending towards Inspector Owen. While leaving the house, Inspector Owen encounters yet another woman, the lovely Olga Severn.
The next morning, as these things go in English country house mysteries, Mr. Weston is found stabbed. Several people had good motives to get rid of him, business-wise or personal. Olga's aunt, the athletic Miss Florence Severn, might have had illusions of marrying the old rogue. Old Mr. Edwardes, gone a bit socialist after the loss of his three sons in the war, had been arguing with Mr. Weston about reforms in the factory - could that be a motive for murder? And what about all those rumors that Mr. Weston had taken at least one young girl to Scotland for an "irregular marriage", which might have led to illegitimate offspring with claims on Mr. Weston's fortune? Apart from a Japanese dagger, poisoned chocolates come into play as well.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

Mixed on this one.
As usual it was very easy to read, the authors writing style flows nicely and holds the attention.
This plot was a middling one for me, nicely constructed initially but definitely but his best.
As others have noted quite a few mentions about politics, workers rights/collectives, which punshon wasn’t in favour of it seems. Maybe that detracted from the overall enjoyment of the novel.
This novel also had more appearances of Olive than usual, but yet again none of the chief constable.

Overall an okay read, still enjoyed it but not as much as others in the series.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

People actually liked these Bobby Owen books when they could have read Agatha Christie? Oh well. I gave this one a try and perhaps it was not representative of the number of books this crack investigator starred in. I had the feeling it was a book attempting to add words to a silent film. Example of the action from chapter XXXVI: "...and by the way she ran she made me think of a rabbit with a weasel close behind. I could see that she was afraid and that she had no hope as she slipped and dodged through the trees..." This poor woman was being followed in this desperate run through the woods - at night, mind you - by another woman who "in one hand she held this torch and in the other hand she had a handbag and a knife - a Japanese knife..."
If that sounds exciting there are 35 books in the Bobby Owens series.
I did crack a smile during his final moral outrage at the end of book after discovering two individuals had been married secretly in Scotland by using identities of two deceased people. When attempting to find out if there would be any charges against them. Bobby said, "'I very much regret to say that from the most barefaced and deliberate defiance of the law ever known, they will most probably escape scot free'; and how fiercely he scowled for all his most deeply rooted official instincts were deeply, deeply hurt."