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Ludovic Travers #5
Dancing Death
However thorough your search was, I’m convinced the murderer, or the burglar—call him what you will—is still in the house.
Little Levington Hall, the site of the seasonal house party in Dancing Death, is owned by Martin Braishe, inventor of a lethal gas. Unfortunately for Braishe and his houseguests, their fancy-dress ball might more accurately be described as a fancy-death ball. After the formal festivities have taken place place, nine guests remain at the snowbound Hall, along with a retinue of servants. It is at this point that dead bodies most inconveniently begin to turn up at Little Levington Hall, like so many unwanted Christmas presents. It will be up to the eccentric Ludovic Travers, with his companions John Franklin and Superintendent Wharton of Scotland Yard, to solve this most intricate and ingenious of Yuletide mysteries.
Dancing Death was originally published in 1931. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1931
23 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Bush
94 books12 followersChristopher Bush was educated in the local school. He then won a scholarship to Thetford Grammar, and went on to study modern languages at King's College London, after which he worked as a school teacher.
He participated in both world wars.
He was a prolific writer of detective novels, wrote three autobiographical novels and nine books about Breckland life using the nom-de-plume Michael Home.
He lived in Great Hockham.
He participated in both world wars.
He was a prolific writer of detective novels, wrote three autobiographical novels and nine books about Breckland life using the nom-de-plume Michael Home.
He lived in Great Hockham.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 4, 2023
I must say it was an odd Christmas mystery. After an odd introductory chapter (which is explained much later) the start feels like you are entering a group where there are many things being hinted at that you just don't know what exactly is going on-- and it doesn't feel exactly like a happy party. And, it quickly turns into a nightmare. True to other Travers mysteries, there are a lot of layers and quite a bit of danger. This mystery a series of unusual events and they are thoroughly searched through- which you get to see... and good luck putting it altogether. A puzzler's delight and as pieces came together the tensions rose even more.
A wild end and what a mystery! PS- there was a lot of snow involved.
A wild end and what a mystery! PS- there was a lot of snow involved.
September 26, 2017
This 1931 outing for Ludovic Travers provides excellent reading for lovers of Classic English Detection.
Although the cover has this as a Christmas mystery, it is set at New Year.
All the usual trappings are here: a snow-bound country house, lights going out, phone cut off, a stranger stranded in a car, murder, suicide, footprints, amateur detective in residence, floorplans, beautiful women and handsome men, and lots of red herrings.
However this novel has a realism about it not often found in Golden Age Detectives. The official police are given due place and the evidence is properly handled. The ending is solid, neither too drawn out nor unduly rushed. The characters are well-realised and have substance.
Curtis Evans’ Introduction provides plenty of interesting background information, which is common to all the books, and a brief lead into each individual work.
Highly recommended and most enjoyable.
Although the cover has this as a Christmas mystery, it is set at New Year.
All the usual trappings are here: a snow-bound country house, lights going out, phone cut off, a stranger stranded in a car, murder, suicide, footprints, amateur detective in residence, floorplans, beautiful women and handsome men, and lots of red herrings.
However this novel has a realism about it not often found in Golden Age Detectives. The official police are given due place and the evidence is properly handled. The ending is solid, neither too drawn out nor unduly rushed. The characters are well-realised and have substance.
Curtis Evans’ Introduction provides plenty of interesting background information, which is common to all the books, and a brief lead into each individual work.
Highly recommended and most enjoyable.
October 23, 2017
3 stelle e mezzo
Non sono 4 stelle piene perché il dipanamento della matassa mi ha lasciata un po' insoddisfatta: l'autore continua a dire "Questo ve lo spiego dopo", ma poi rimanda troppo e le spiegazioni finali non sono belle ordinate. Bisogna tornare indietro più volte per capire tutti i meccanismi dei delitti e i moventi.
Non sono 4 stelle piene perché il dipanamento della matassa mi ha lasciata un po' insoddisfatta: l'autore continua a dire "Questo ve lo spiego dopo", ma poi rimanda troppo e le spiegazioni finali non sono belle ordinate. Bisogna tornare indietro più volte per capire tutti i meccanismi dei delitti e i moventi.
February 10, 2022
A clever take on the locked room mystery. A New Year's Eve party, heavy snow followed by a robbery and a murder. So far so good but the book is ultimately ruined by constantly increasing the body count. "Dancing Death" could have been so much better .
May 12, 2025
The problem with Bush is that whenever he has an interesting idea, he then proceeds to shit and piss all over it with some of the worst writing in the mystery genre, to the point that you forget things that have happened only a page earlier.
December 8, 2017
Clever mystery, a bit dry on character. Full review at classicmystery.wordpress.com
January 3, 2018
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
December 9, 2021
3.75 stars
Although set at New Year this is still very much a Christmas crime novel with victims and suspects marooned in a snow bound house, with an inoperable telephone and impassable roads. After a fancy dress ball, which had to be cut short due to the deteriorating weather, only the owner and nine guests remain (one of whom is a long term visitor who sleeps in the summer house) and as they are retiring for the night suddenly the lights go out. It is discovered this was done deliberately, eventually they are fixed the lights came back on and people go to bed. The following morning it's realised that most of the people in the house have been robbed with money and jewellery missing but the biggest shock is one of the guests has been murdered found stabbed in the back. That is when they discover that the telephone has gone, not merely the line being cut but the actually telephone has disappered and to top it all off there is a complete stranger eating breakfast in the dining room. It turns out he was a stranded motorist whose car had broken down and rather than freezing to death had decided to try the house in the hopes of warmth and a telephone to see if his car could be fixed. After these shocks the long-term visitor (an author trying to complete his second book) who sleeps in the summer house is discovered dead in a horribly contorted position. However, one of the guest is a high ranking medical officer who pronounces that the death was due to a heart attack, and it certainly seems from the state of the summer house that the author had had a mental breakdown just before his death. However, it should be remembered that the owner had invented a lethal gas, a small siphon of which he kept in his safe and which was also discovered to be missing. One of the guests, the head of a detection agency braves the weather and departs to find a working telephone to call the police, leaving Ludovic Travers behind to keep an eye on the rest of those in the house but before the police can arrive there is another murder, this time the maid of the first victim. Is the same person responsible for the thefts and all three murders?
I did like this book. The lead policeman Superintendent Wharton of Scotland Yard is an old acquaitance of Ludovic Travers and the respect between the two is obvious. This is not a crime story where you have the gifted amateur and the boneheaded or inept police (which I often think is a mistake because when the author makes the police stupid it diminishes the intelligence of the amateur!). Here the police are very competent and good at their job, also from the interactions between Wharton and Travers they understand each other. For example when Travers asks Wharton to let the author's death be ruled a suicide at the inquest but can't explain why Wharton does as he asks without making a fuss about it, but also when Travers hints at something it is obvious that Wharton is already working on that line.
As well as the intelligent police I also liked the fact is the way that Travers doesn't work out who committed one of the crimes until late in the book and the guilty person is a shock to him. The way he discovers this is well done with the reader following step by step and making the discoveries at the same time. The book also has an unusual first chapter which consists of a police officer writing a letter to The Times in response to the latest crime book he was reading and an employee of a detective agency following an unknown person. Neither the police officer or the employee have anything to do with any of the crimes in any way and never appear again but their actions do have an unforeseen effect on the story.
Although set at New Year this is still very much a Christmas crime novel with victims and suspects marooned in a snow bound house, with an inoperable telephone and impassable roads. After a fancy dress ball, which had to be cut short due to the deteriorating weather, only the owner and nine guests remain (one of whom is a long term visitor who sleeps in the summer house) and as they are retiring for the night suddenly the lights go out. It is discovered this was done deliberately, eventually they are fixed the lights came back on and people go to bed. The following morning it's realised that most of the people in the house have been robbed with money and jewellery missing but the biggest shock is one of the guests has been murdered found stabbed in the back. That is when they discover that the telephone has gone, not merely the line being cut but the actually telephone has disappered and to top it all off there is a complete stranger eating breakfast in the dining room. It turns out he was a stranded motorist whose car had broken down and rather than freezing to death had decided to try the house in the hopes of warmth and a telephone to see if his car could be fixed. After these shocks the long-term visitor (an author trying to complete his second book) who sleeps in the summer house is discovered dead in a horribly contorted position. However, one of the guest is a high ranking medical officer who pronounces that the death was due to a heart attack, and it certainly seems from the state of the summer house that the author had had a mental breakdown just before his death. However, it should be remembered that the owner had invented a lethal gas, a small siphon of which he kept in his safe and which was also discovered to be missing. One of the guests, the head of a detection agency braves the weather and departs to find a working telephone to call the police, leaving Ludovic Travers behind to keep an eye on the rest of those in the house but before the police can arrive there is another murder, this time the maid of the first victim. Is the same person responsible for the thefts and all three murders?
I did like this book. The lead policeman Superintendent Wharton of Scotland Yard is an old acquaitance of Ludovic Travers and the respect between the two is obvious. This is not a crime story where you have the gifted amateur and the boneheaded or inept police (which I often think is a mistake because when the author makes the police stupid it diminishes the intelligence of the amateur!). Here the police are very competent and good at their job, also from the interactions between Wharton and Travers they understand each other. For example when Travers asks Wharton to let the author's death be ruled a suicide at the inquest but can't explain why Wharton does as he asks without making a fuss about it, but also when Travers hints at something it is obvious that Wharton is already working on that line.
As well as the intelligent police I also liked the fact is the way that Travers doesn't work out who committed one of the crimes until late in the book and the guilty person is a shock to him. The way he discovers this is well done with the reader following step by step and making the discoveries at the same time. The book also has an unusual first chapter which consists of a police officer writing a letter to The Times in response to the latest crime book he was reading and an employee of a detective agency following an unknown person. Neither the police officer or the employee have anything to do with any of the crimes in any way and never appear again but their actions do have an unforeseen effect on the story.
October 27, 2022
“Look here!” Travers said, in practically the only pause there had been up to that moment. “What really is the use of theorizing? Admit anything you like—that the last drink we had was doped, that there was a burglary, that there’s been a murder at any hour you choose to name. All that doesn’t alter the one fact: We’ve no right to argue. We’re all possible burglars and murderers in the eyes of the law—every man jack of us except Crashaw.” He waited till everybody had had his say to that. “You noticed that I included myself. Who can really prove that I didn’t burgle the rooms last night? Everything that was taken could go into my pockets, and I might have secreted it in a safe place long ago. And it would be a pretty difficult job to prove that I didn’t do the murder - in spite of what George has been good enough to tell you. Now he might be vouched for by his wife. But what about the rest of you? Where’s your alibi, Tommy? Yours, Martin? Yours, Challis?”
May 3, 2018
An enjoyable, if confusing, read
The series gets better and better as it goes on. In this there is enough to-ing and fro-ing and red herrings to keep up the suspense to the end, and the main character, Ludovic Travers takes centre stage more fully than in the previous books. His counterpart series characters, the ex-Scotland Yard head of the Durango detective agency and his oppo, the Detective Inspector with the tea-drinking habit are similarly more fully realised.
Altogether this seems to be turning into a good, solid second-ranking mystery series of the Golden Age, and well worth getting to know.
The series gets better and better as it goes on. In this there is enough to-ing and fro-ing and red herrings to keep up the suspense to the end, and the main character, Ludovic Travers takes centre stage more fully than in the previous books. His counterpart series characters, the ex-Scotland Yard head of the Durango detective agency and his oppo, the Detective Inspector with the tea-drinking habit are similarly more fully realised.
Altogether this seems to be turning into a good, solid second-ranking mystery series of the Golden Age, and well worth getting to know.
December 19, 2024
Rating 3.5
Enjoyed the book, was more involved than the majority of golden age novels.
Set up was fairly standard, characters were all well drawn, plot was okay. Tbh worked out the majority of the who did what but not the exact mechanics of it.
Travers was an interesting character and obviously had a following if he is in 60+ novels.
Overall it was slightly better than average for me, possibly because of the writing style, but not enough to raise it up a rating.
Perhaps the character will grow on me as I do have a couple more titles from further on the series.
Will probably get to them next year at some point .
Enjoyed the book, was more involved than the majority of golden age novels.
Set up was fairly standard, characters were all well drawn, plot was okay. Tbh worked out the majority of the who did what but not the exact mechanics of it.
Travers was an interesting character and obviously had a following if he is in 60+ novels.
Overall it was slightly better than average for me, possibly because of the writing style, but not enough to raise it up a rating.
Perhaps the character will grow on me as I do have a couple more titles from further on the series.
Will probably get to them next year at some point .
May 15, 2017
When the house-party wakes up the night after the ball, they find one of their number stabbed to death, and another mysteriously dead in the pagoda, a summer house. They're also snowed in, and the telephone line is down. Fortunately, among those present is Ludovic Travers, an amateur detective, and his friend Franklin, a private investigator who is a retired policeman. Franklin braves the heavy snow to bring help, while Travers tries to keep the party under control until the police arrive. Nicely put together and suspenseful.
January 12, 2018
Classico giallo inglese con doppio omicidio, strani furti ed un maniero isolato per alcuni giorni in seguito ad una copiosa nevicata. Una serie di ingredienti molto accattivanti, che si risolvono in un buon giallo, che soffre un po' di lentezza in diverse parti ed un protagonista, Travers, francamente odioso. Altra cosa che non mi è molto piaciuta è la reazione degli ospiti alla notizie dell'assassinio di Maribel...secondo me è troppo irreale.
July 2, 2019
Romanzo creativo che possiede tutte le caratteristiche per una buona riuscita: l'atmosfera chiusa della casa di campagna, un delitto impossibile, una pletora di personaggi tutti sospetti, tanti possibili moventi. Purtroppo però il risultato è diverso da ciò che avevo sperato, essendo il tutto molto confusionario, così come la soluzione, che pare spiegata a metà. Dunque 3 stelle.
November 26, 2022
There's a party planned, one that happens every year but this year, there's a big snow storm coming in so the people left over are the ones staying in or near the house. And it's an interesting crew that remains. Among them are sisters who don't seem very close, a writer who is down on his luck, and Ludovic Travers. Then, the electricity goes out and two people die. A stranded motorist shows up and there's another body. About 2/3 of the way through the book, the police show up and work with Travers to solve the crime.
It was very atmospheric and very convoluted. An interesting read and another good recommendation from the Classic Mysteries podcast.
It was very atmospheric and very convoluted. An interesting read and another good recommendation from the Classic Mysteries podcast.
January 1, 2021
2,5 ⭐️
Trama davvero troppo complicata e difficile da seguire, anche a causa dello stile complesso dell’autore.
Buono il finale dettagliato.
Trama davvero troppo complicata e difficile da seguire, anche a causa dello stile complesso dell’autore.
Buono il finale dettagliato.
November 11, 2025
Muddled and, frankly, Boring
List interest half way through - no flow. Don't like leaving a book unfinished but couldn't wait for this torture to end.
List interest half way through - no flow. Don't like leaving a book unfinished but couldn't wait for this torture to end.
June 20, 2018
One of the better "snow bound" festive season mysteries. Complex as always and quite challenging to keep on top of the plot (to this reader anyway). This one has a bit of everything and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
April 9, 2017
An old style "locked-room" mystery where two people are found dead after a party. It snowed all night long, so none could leave the country house... That means that the murderer has to be one of the guests.
The book is pretty engaging and enjoyable to read, but it misses something if compared to other mysteries of the same era. The characters are not very interesting, and the author uses a lot the technique of saying that the detective "saw something" but without telling the reader what he actually saw, which obvioulsy makes it impossible for the reader to "compete" with the police.
Moreover, the final denouement is a bit washed down, the murderer is revealed 2/3 into the book and the final part of the book is more about getting proofs to catch the culprit than about the mystery itself, which in my opinion reduces the tension on the last chapters of the book.
The book is pretty engaging and enjoyable to read, but it misses something if compared to other mysteries of the same era. The characters are not very interesting, and the author uses a lot the technique of saying that the detective "saw something" but without telling the reader what he actually saw, which obvioulsy makes it impossible for the reader to "compete" with the police.
Moreover, the final denouement is a bit washed down, the murderer is revealed 2/3 into the book and the final part of the book is more about getting proofs to catch the culprit than about the mystery itself, which in my opinion reduces the tension on the last chapters of the book.
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November 2, 2017I felt that the poison gas recently discovered by one of the characters, a vial of which he had about the house and which plays a significant part in the story, fell under Detection Club strictures https://murder-mayhem.com/the-detecti... against 'hitherto undetected poisons'.
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