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The Death Box
First published in 1946, 'The Death Box' is a twisty tale of mystery and suspense from the author of 'Another Little Christmas Murder'.
On a warm summer's night in London, the last thing Joe Trayne expects is to become involved in a crime. But when a young woman approaches asking for assistance with a dead man, his curiosity gets the better of him.
Joe accompanies her to a flat off Conduit Street, only to be left alone after she mysteriously disappears. But it's what she leaves him with that's most disturbing: a large box and a body inside it.
After he flees the scene, Joe finds he can't stop thinking about the woman and her unfortunate guest. As he sets about tracking her down, he finds himself at the centre of not just one but several investigations of murder ...
On a warm summer's night in London, the last thing Joe Trayne expects is to become involved in a crime. But when a young woman approaches asking for assistance with a dead man, his curiosity gets the better of him.
Joe accompanies her to a flat off Conduit Street, only to be left alone after she mysteriously disappears. But it's what she leaves him with that's most disturbing: a large box and a body inside it.
After he flees the scene, Joe finds he can't stop thinking about the woman and her unfortunate guest. As he sets about tracking her down, he finds himself at the centre of not just one but several investigations of murder ...
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1946
About the author
Lorna Nicholl Morgan
3 books9 followersLorna Nicholl Morgan was an English writer who published four mystery novels in the 1940s. Her work has been compared to that of Margery Allingham and Dorothy Sayers.
Lorna Nicholl Morgan was born in New Malden, London, on 20 August 1913, the youngest of five sisters. Her father worked as a legal draftsman. In 1954, at the age of 41, she emigrated to the United States, leaving her previous home in London to sail unaccompanied on the S.S. Ryndam from Southampton to New York. On the ship's passenger list, she was described as a novelist.
Morgan was the author of four mystery novels:
Murder in Devils' Hollow (1944, World's Work)
Talking of Murder (1945, Harrap)
The Death Box (1946, Macdonald & Co.)
Another Little Murder (1947, Macdonald & Co.)
According to Social Security records, she died on 15 November 1993.
During December 2014, British booksellers reported a resurgence of interest in novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, attributed to the British Library's successful reprinting of Mystery in White by Joseph Jefferson Farjeon. More Christmas-themed murder mysteries from the Golden Age were reprinted over the following years, including Morgan's Another Little Murder, which was rechristened Another Little Christmas Murder by its new publishers, Sphere Books, to emphasise its festive setting. Under this title, the book has received mixed reviews, with some readers criticising its link to Christmas as tenuous, and others enjoying its "intricately plotted" nature and describing it as a "classic".
Either way, the commercial performance of Another Little Christmas Murder was such that the publishers decided to reprint The Death Box less than a year later, advertising the fact that it was from the same author on the front cover.
Lorna Nicholl Morgan was born in New Malden, London, on 20 August 1913, the youngest of five sisters. Her father worked as a legal draftsman. In 1954, at the age of 41, she emigrated to the United States, leaving her previous home in London to sail unaccompanied on the S.S. Ryndam from Southampton to New York. On the ship's passenger list, she was described as a novelist.
Morgan was the author of four mystery novels:
Murder in Devils' Hollow (1944, World's Work)
Talking of Murder (1945, Harrap)
The Death Box (1946, Macdonald & Co.)
Another Little Murder (1947, Macdonald & Co.)
According to Social Security records, she died on 15 November 1993.
During December 2014, British booksellers reported a resurgence of interest in novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, attributed to the British Library's successful reprinting of Mystery in White by Joseph Jefferson Farjeon. More Christmas-themed murder mysteries from the Golden Age were reprinted over the following years, including Morgan's Another Little Murder, which was rechristened Another Little Christmas Murder by its new publishers, Sphere Books, to emphasise its festive setting. Under this title, the book has received mixed reviews, with some readers criticising its link to Christmas as tenuous, and others enjoying its "intricately plotted" nature and describing it as a "classic".
Either way, the commercial performance of Another Little Christmas Murder was such that the publishers decided to reprint The Death Box less than a year later, advertising the fact that it was from the same author on the front cover.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 25, 2021
A proper solid 3 star mystery! But lacking the wit of the other Lorna Nicholl Morgan book I've read!
Fast paced, a boys adventure, mystery women, murder and booze all the ingredients for a perfect mystery are here but it just felt a little too long and drawn out!
A shame as I loved Joe and Johnny characters I just got a bit bored of them!
Fast paced, a boys adventure, mystery women, murder and booze all the ingredients for a perfect mystery are here but it just felt a little too long and drawn out!
A shame as I loved Joe and Johnny characters I just got a bit bored of them!
September 23, 2019
A good story but way too much alcohol and cigarettes. The amount of alcohol Joe drank in one chapter would floor a horse. I could almost taste the stale smoke, perhaps memories of nightclubs in the 70s when everything, clothes and hair, smelled terrible the next day.
July 29, 2021
The lady in black was really responsible for the whole affair, according to club owner Joe Trayne's story because if Wendy Bond had not asked him for assistance as she has discovered a dead man in a box, he would hot have been inveigled into this tale of mystery and intrigue.
He meets Wendy on a warm summer's night in London and as she unfolds her story, his curiosity gets the better of him and he accompanies her to her flat off Conduit Street. Sure enough there is a box with a dead man within but while he looks around the lady nips into the kitchen and mysteriously disappears leaving no trace of her presence and with no seeable exit to leave by. So he is left with a large box with a body inside it.
He decides that the best course of action is to leave the scene and stop thinking about Wendy and her unfortunate guest. But he is unable to let it drop so he sets out to track her down. This decision takes him into a fiendish plot in which he finds himself at the centre of not just one but other cases of murder, all of them involving the same box, which on each occasion has, at least temporarily, a body in it. He is determined to get to the bottom of the matter.
Thereafter Joe along with his buddy Johnny, both entertaining and energetic characters, meet up with all sorts of problems and various threats on their lives until they finally reach a solution.
'The Death Box' begins promisingly and the first two-thirds is action-packed with short, sharp, pithy dialogue but the final third drifts along with long, lugubrious dialogue and descriptions that tend to take the impact of the first part of the story away until it comes, rather abruptly, to its end. It is definitely not as good as the other title I have read by Lorna Morgan.
He meets Wendy on a warm summer's night in London and as she unfolds her story, his curiosity gets the better of him and he accompanies her to her flat off Conduit Street. Sure enough there is a box with a dead man within but while he looks around the lady nips into the kitchen and mysteriously disappears leaving no trace of her presence and with no seeable exit to leave by. So he is left with a large box with a body inside it.
He decides that the best course of action is to leave the scene and stop thinking about Wendy and her unfortunate guest. But he is unable to let it drop so he sets out to track her down. This decision takes him into a fiendish plot in which he finds himself at the centre of not just one but other cases of murder, all of them involving the same box, which on each occasion has, at least temporarily, a body in it. He is determined to get to the bottom of the matter.
Thereafter Joe along with his buddy Johnny, both entertaining and energetic characters, meet up with all sorts of problems and various threats on their lives until they finally reach a solution.
'The Death Box' begins promisingly and the first two-thirds is action-packed with short, sharp, pithy dialogue but the final third drifts along with long, lugubrious dialogue and descriptions that tend to take the impact of the first part of the story away until it comes, rather abruptly, to its end. It is definitely not as good as the other title I have read by Lorna Morgan.
July 21, 2025
The Death Box by Lorna Nicholl Morgan was first published in 1946 and it starts on a warm summer evening, when Joe Trayne, a co-owner of a London nightclub is in the wrong place at the wrong time on the corner of Conduit Street, and is mistaken for a plain clothes policeman. The lady explains that there is a dead man in the flat she shares with her sister and Joe accompanies her back to her home. Faced with spectacle of a deceased man lying within a large antique box that the lady had recently purchased at an auction and delivered to her address, he goes to investigate a noise at the door and on his return the mysterious woman has disappeared. Intrigued by the woman and her disappearance Joe begins to track down her identity and becomes embroiled in a plot where the box reappears repeatedly, each time with a different dead body within and Joe quickly realises that following the established pattern that has emerged he is likely to be the next victim of the death box as he has become an unwitting victim in a seriously disturbed plan of revenge .
This was an interesting and original mystery which I enjoyed reading. I thought Joe Trayne a multi layered character with interesting hints to his back story that sadly were never fully explored but left me wanting to know more about him. The motivation for the deaths is revenge and the complexity of that revenge and why it is being sought is gradually revealed through the novel, but it demonstrates considerable creativity verging on the edges of madness by the perpetrator, and as the reader begins to understand more of the situation it is not difficult to see why he is going to the lengths he is. While very much part of the Golden Age of crime fiction style with nothing over exaggerated do not be fooled. This is a dark tale which focuses on the destruction of the human mind and the depths we can be driven to. The author clearly sets this during the light of summer but the overwhelming feeling of the darkness of the damaged soul really does distract the reader from that warm and light summer setting.
Lorna Nicholl Morgan seems to be an author that has largely disappeared from public consciousness over the years but I would very much like to read more by her based on my enjoyment of The Death Box.
This was an interesting and original mystery which I enjoyed reading. I thought Joe Trayne a multi layered character with interesting hints to his back story that sadly were never fully explored but left me wanting to know more about him. The motivation for the deaths is revenge and the complexity of that revenge and why it is being sought is gradually revealed through the novel, but it demonstrates considerable creativity verging on the edges of madness by the perpetrator, and as the reader begins to understand more of the situation it is not difficult to see why he is going to the lengths he is. While very much part of the Golden Age of crime fiction style with nothing over exaggerated do not be fooled. This is a dark tale which focuses on the destruction of the human mind and the depths we can be driven to. The author clearly sets this during the light of summer but the overwhelming feeling of the darkness of the damaged soul really does distract the reader from that warm and light summer setting.
Lorna Nicholl Morgan seems to be an author that has largely disappeared from public consciousness over the years but I would very much like to read more by her based on my enjoyment of The Death Box.
August 5, 2020
The last third or so of this book gave me such a rush, but barely made up for its incredibly slow start. Might have been my own fault for leaving it unread for days on end, but much of the investigating Joe went through felt like a wild goose chase until the very end. The mystery itself was pretty fun to follow, and I loved all the characters.
Joe is especially intriguing, being a character of intense neutrality in terms of interest in all this. Unlike other detective stories where PIs are hired or sought after, Joe literally found himself landed in the middle of this mess involuntarily. I think it made for a very interesting POV because he not only investigated things that pertained directly to the case, but also quite unrelated ones. I enjoyed Johnny's appearances too! Protect this soft boy...
Most mystery novels wait until the very last minute for the pieces to all slot together, and this one was no exception. It wasn't too forced or awkward, though, as it fit the relevant characters' progression. Overall, this was a pretty interesting read--shame that it took so long for the pace to pick up!
Joe is especially intriguing, being a character of intense neutrality in terms of interest in all this. Unlike other detective stories where PIs are hired or sought after, Joe literally found himself landed in the middle of this mess involuntarily. I think it made for a very interesting POV because he not only investigated things that pertained directly to the case, but also quite unrelated ones. I enjoyed Johnny's appearances too! Protect this soft boy...
Most mystery novels wait until the very last minute for the pieces to all slot together, and this one was no exception. It wasn't too forced or awkward, though, as it fit the relevant characters' progression. Overall, this was a pretty interesting read--shame that it took so long for the pace to pick up!
August 22, 2024
4.5 stars. I thought this was a cracking mystery with an engaging hero. Joe Trayne seemed a precursor of James Bond, slick and sharp, able to survive without much sleep, though he was not a womaniser and also though he had a fast car, he didn't drive it. The action was mainly in London over a few days.
Rum and lime juice was a favourite drink. I wonder whether it was dark or white rum? I loved the descriptions of the service flats and houses, I loved that Joe was tidy and liked to keep himself and his home clean, plus he kept a spare suit in his office. Melda Linklater was also a very interesting character.
This was an exciting thriller and would have made a great movie.
Rum and lime juice was a favourite drink. I wonder whether it was dark or white rum? I loved the descriptions of the service flats and houses, I loved that Joe was tidy and liked to keep himself and his home clean, plus he kept a spare suit in his office. Melda Linklater was also a very interesting character.
This was an exciting thriller and would have made a great movie.
June 8, 2023
written by the mysterious Lorna Nicholl Morgan, no one genuinely knows who she was, in 1946, this is fast paced Golden Age Crime novel. Full of action with a charming but somewhat loopy protagonist who appears to live on brandy and cigarettes. Be warned there is much smoking in this novel-a bump on the head-the character lights up-a tricky situation-another cigarette. It's a light hearted easy read which would make great TV.
November 27, 2019
The plot was really interesting, I think Lorna Nicholl Morgan is a good writer with good ideas. My only problem with the book is how much Joe was drinking. Seriously, it's more than a hundred drink in less than a week. I get why he smoke so much, but seriously who can withstand so much alcohol and still solve murders?
April 10, 2020
Below average read for this one, I was so excited to read it as the blurb sounds like the perfect crime story, however pretty disappointing.
February 17, 2018
My second of this author’s books and an enjoyable story. Written in the 40s, the style and language isn’t as reserved as her contemporaries which I like.
November 30, 2020
Voto: 7/10
Si pensa al giallo “classico” inglese e si immaginano delitti in piccoli villaggi o in antiche dimore di campagna. La crime fiction made in UK, però, sa essere anche più “metropolitana”, virando decisamente verso il noir come in “Il baule della morte”. Pieno d’azione e di personaggi che non avrebbero sfigurato in una pellicola in bianco e nero della Hollywood che fu, con uomini tutti di un pezzo, che si leccano le ferite con abbondanti sorsare di brandy, ed elegantissime donne fatali, questo romanzo di Lorena Nicholl Morgan, riscoperto da Lindau, è un piacevole diversivo per gli amanti del poliziesco d’annata. Consigliato.
Si pensa al giallo “classico” inglese e si immaginano delitti in piccoli villaggi o in antiche dimore di campagna. La crime fiction made in UK, però, sa essere anche più “metropolitana”, virando decisamente verso il noir come in “Il baule della morte”. Pieno d’azione e di personaggi che non avrebbero sfigurato in una pellicola in bianco e nero della Hollywood che fu, con uomini tutti di un pezzo, che si leccano le ferite con abbondanti sorsare di brandy, ed elegantissime donne fatali, questo romanzo di Lorena Nicholl Morgan, riscoperto da Lindau, è un piacevole diversivo per gli amanti del poliziesco d’annata. Consigliato.
January 3, 2018
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February 18, 2022
Londra, il proprietario del locale Allshort Joe Trayne incontra una spaventata Wendy Bond, una giovane ragazza che chiede aiuto, Joe la porta a casa dove dentro a un baule vintage acquistato ad un'asta, Wendy ha trovato un cadavere. Joe non fa in tempo a capacitarsi della situazione che la ragazza scompare, il mistero va risolto e Joe è uno che certo non si tira indietro, vuole andare fino in fondo e ritrovare Wendy, anche se questo mette a rischio la sua vita.
Una storia in puro stile hard boiled che ti fa crescere la curiosità di sapere chi c'è dietro tutto questo.
Una storia in puro stile hard boiled che ti fa crescere la curiosità di sapere chi c'è dietro tutto questo.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews