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Hermann Glide #1
The Body in the Road
It had been so quickly done that he felt almost as if a little knife had actually flashed by him and stuck, quivering, in the door at his back.
Violet Hunter disappears at dusk one evening on a lonely road not far from a mysterious sanatorium. Her body is found buried in her friend’s garden. Has Linda strangled her in a fit of jealousy? Or has the sanatorium’s sinister foreign doctor drawn her into his macabre experiments?
The police seize the few clues and Linda Merle is accused of murder. Bit by bit they build up the circumstantial evidence while the ingenious private detective Hermann Glide works in the background. By methods of intuition and a daring lack of scruple, Glide solves the mystery of the crime—a crime of passion and tragically warped mentality.
Violet Hunter disappears at dusk one evening on a lonely road not far from a mysterious sanatorium. Her body is found buried in her friend’s garden. Has Linda strangled her in a fit of jealousy? Or has the sanatorium’s sinister foreign doctor drawn her into his macabre experiments?
The police seize the few clues and Linda Merle is accused of murder. Bit by bit they build up the circumstantial evidence while the ingenious private detective Hermann Glide works in the background. By methods of intuition and a daring lack of scruple, Glide solves the mystery of the crime—a crime of passion and tragically warped mentality.
281 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1930
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95 people want to read
About the author
Moray Dalton
36 books26 followersPseudonym of Katherine Mary Deville Dalton Renoir (1881-1963)
Katherine Dalton was born in Hammersmith, London in 1881, the only child of a Canadian father and English mother. The author wrote two well-received early novels, Olive in Italy (1909), and The Sword of Love (1920). However, her career in crime fiction did not begin until 1924, after which Moray Dalton published twenty-nine mysteries, the last in 1951. The majority of these feature her recurring sleuths, Scotland Yard inspector Hugh Collier and private inquiry agent Hermann Glide. Moray Dalton married Louis Jean Renoir in 1921, and the couple had a son a year later. The author lived on the south coast of England for the majority of her life following the marriage. She died in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1963.
Katherine Dalton was born in Hammersmith, London in 1881, the only child of a Canadian father and English mother. The author wrote two well-received early novels, Olive in Italy (1909), and The Sword of Love (1920). However, her career in crime fiction did not begin until 1924, after which Moray Dalton published twenty-nine mysteries, the last in 1951. The majority of these feature her recurring sleuths, Scotland Yard inspector Hugh Collier and private inquiry agent Hermann Glide. Moray Dalton married Louis Jean Renoir in 1921, and the couple had a son a year later. The author lived on the south coast of England for the majority of her life following the marriage. She died in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1963.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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September 11, 2019A fun period mystery with a couple of nice twists though the villain is pretty obvious. Entertaining journey to the denouement, though, with a fabby older lady secondary character (Lady Agatha Chant who got an OBE for secret war work, can she have her own book please). Nice amoral streak to the private detective as well.
January 23, 2020
My first book by this author and I thought it a good, well-written tale. The plot is interesting and the characters engaging. The title is odd because it doesn't seem to fit the story, other than that this is a very enjoyable read.
October 1, 2019
Full review at classicmystery.blog
June 8, 2025
Red herrings everywhere, but they don't hide the truth for a moment. | The true solution to the mystery was clear long before the murder even happened, which makes this not one of Dalton's best. Still, though, she wrote well and it's worth reading for genre fans.
June 18, 2019
THE BODY IN THE ROAD, Moray Dalton, 1931
Two friends are walking down a country road when they find a dog that has been hit by a car. One stays there, the other goes to try to get help from a passing car. She is never seen again. Linda Merle is the remaining girl. Although she tells the police that she has no idea what happened to her friend, circumstantial evidence mounts and Linda is charged with the girl's murder when the body is found in a shallow grave outside her cottage.
There is a great deal more to the plot than this, of course. I really enjoyed the tale, and even if I had a pretty good idea who was behind the murder from the start, the author made me doubt my conclusions several times. The characters were appealing, the pace was perfect, and the dialog smart and believable. The only thing that puzzled me about the story was what was the reasoning behind the title. Although the girl disappeared from a lonely road, she wasn't killed in the road, and her body wasn't found there, either. I don't know why titles matter to me, but I'm always a bit put off if they don't mesh with the story.
This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
Two friends are walking down a country road when they find a dog that has been hit by a car. One stays there, the other goes to try to get help from a passing car. She is never seen again. Linda Merle is the remaining girl. Although she tells the police that she has no idea what happened to her friend, circumstantial evidence mounts and Linda is charged with the girl's murder when the body is found in a shallow grave outside her cottage.
There is a great deal more to the plot than this, of course. I really enjoyed the tale, and even if I had a pretty good idea who was behind the murder from the start, the author made me doubt my conclusions several times. The characters were appealing, the pace was perfect, and the dialog smart and believable. The only thing that puzzled me about the story was what was the reasoning behind the title. Although the girl disappeared from a lonely road, she wasn't killed in the road, and her body wasn't found there, either. I don't know why titles matter to me, but I'm always a bit put off if they don't mesh with the story.
This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
August 10, 2020
Major characters:
Linda Merle, pianist, our protagonist
Violet Hunter, violinist
Annie Coleman, landlady/protector of Violet
Lady Agatha Chant, of Spinacres
Lord David Haringdon, her nephew
Diana Culver, likely future bride of Lord David
Dr. Michael Saigon, of Black Ridge
Herbert Capper, Dr. Saigon's servant
Mr. Smith, has an eye for Violet
Locale: Jessop's Bridge, England
Synopsis: Linda Merle takes a job playing piano in a local café. The other musician is Violet Hunter, a ditzy woman and mediocre violinist. Violet lives under the thumb of landlady Annie Coleman, who has cared for her since she was a child. Annie is quite over-protective.
Linda finds an out-of-the-way cottage for sale cheap, and buys it with a plan to turn it into a little café. She talks Violet into leaving Annie and going in with her. Annie is not pleased.
Nearby is Spinacres, home of Lady Agatha Chant and her nephew, Lord David Haringdon. His likely future wife is stuck-up Diana Culver. David goes off for a hike and finds a distraught Linda Merle in the road. She and Violet had been walking and found an injured dog outside the closed gates of Black Ridge, home of mysterious Dr. Michael Saigon. Violet had gone off one way for help, leaving Linda to go the other way. Linda appeals to David for help. They return to the spot, but the dog is gone. It turns out Violet is gone, too.
David returns home and convinces Lady Agatha that she could do a little snooping at Black Ridge, to see what has become of the dog, and maybe Violet. Lady Agatha has a brief visit but learns nothing from Dr. Saigon. Violet cannot be found. David snoops and eventually enlists the help of P.I. Hermann Glide, who has a sketchy reputation.
Review:
When halfway through I wrote: "wondering if this is really a murder mystery, as no one is dead yet; and there has been no body in any road. I am a bit anxious about this, as thus far all the characters have been quite likable and I don't wish to see any of them dead. Although stuck-up rich girl Diana Culver is quite annoying."
Soon after that point we do indeed have a murder mystery and some bodies are starting to pile up.
The book consists of two independent story lines (disappearance of Violet Hunter and mysterious Dr. Saigon), which only touch each other briefly.
David Harrington gets in over his head and enlists a P.I., Hermann Glide. Glide is an odd one, and resorts to trickery to get to the bottom of everything - in methods the authorities would certainly not condone. The book has a hint of the writer getting too far in and wondering how to wrap everything up.
As others have noted, the title doesn't match the story. There is no body in the road.
Linda Merle, pianist, our protagonist
Violet Hunter, violinist
Annie Coleman, landlady/protector of Violet
Lady Agatha Chant, of Spinacres
Lord David Haringdon, her nephew
Diana Culver, likely future bride of Lord David
Dr. Michael Saigon, of Black Ridge
Herbert Capper, Dr. Saigon's servant
Mr. Smith, has an eye for Violet
Locale: Jessop's Bridge, England
Synopsis: Linda Merle takes a job playing piano in a local café. The other musician is Violet Hunter, a ditzy woman and mediocre violinist. Violet lives under the thumb of landlady Annie Coleman, who has cared for her since she was a child. Annie is quite over-protective.
Linda finds an out-of-the-way cottage for sale cheap, and buys it with a plan to turn it into a little café. She talks Violet into leaving Annie and going in with her. Annie is not pleased.
Nearby is Spinacres, home of Lady Agatha Chant and her nephew, Lord David Haringdon. His likely future wife is stuck-up Diana Culver. David goes off for a hike and finds a distraught Linda Merle in the road. She and Violet had been walking and found an injured dog outside the closed gates of Black Ridge, home of mysterious Dr. Michael Saigon. Violet had gone off one way for help, leaving Linda to go the other way. Linda appeals to David for help. They return to the spot, but the dog is gone. It turns out Violet is gone, too.
David returns home and convinces Lady Agatha that she could do a little snooping at Black Ridge, to see what has become of the dog, and maybe Violet. Lady Agatha has a brief visit but learns nothing from Dr. Saigon. Violet cannot be found. David snoops and eventually enlists the help of P.I. Hermann Glide, who has a sketchy reputation.
Review:
When halfway through I wrote: "wondering if this is really a murder mystery, as no one is dead yet; and there has been no body in any road. I am a bit anxious about this, as thus far all the characters have been quite likable and I don't wish to see any of them dead. Although stuck-up rich girl Diana Culver is quite annoying."
Soon after that point we do indeed have a murder mystery and some bodies are starting to pile up.
The book consists of two independent story lines (disappearance of Violet Hunter and mysterious Dr. Saigon), which only touch each other briefly.
David Harrington gets in over his head and enlists a P.I., Hermann Glide. Glide is an odd one, and resorts to trickery to get to the bottom of everything - in methods the authorities would certainly not condone. The book has a hint of the writer getting too far in and wondering how to wrap everything up.
As others have noted, the title doesn't match the story. There is no body in the road.
March 7, 2019
Enjoyable tale, well-written, with good characterisation. However I do have a few quibbles.
The solution, including murderer and motive, is very easy to work out, despite all the circumstantial evidence and the sub-plot distractions. There are effectively three investigations, by the regular police led by Superintendent Lamb, by the amateur (but really Scotland Yard) David Chant, and by private detective Hermann Glide. This was overdoing things a little. The outing of the murderer depended on two pieces of trickery, which was one too many.
The biography of the author, common to all five reissues, is admirable. However the introduction to the three books featuring Glide is oddly imbalanced, a large proportion being taken up by information about " The Mystery of the Blue Train" in order to effect a comparison between Christie's Mr Goby and Dalton's Hermann Glide. I think the likeness is very tenuous.
It is interesting that spiritualism features in the plot, as it played a major part in Sayer's "Strong Poison", also first published in 1930.
Very readable.
3.5 stars
The solution, including murderer and motive, is very easy to work out, despite all the circumstantial evidence and the sub-plot distractions. There are effectively three investigations, by the regular police led by Superintendent Lamb, by the amateur (but really Scotland Yard) David Chant, and by private detective Hermann Glide. This was overdoing things a little. The outing of the murderer depended on two pieces of trickery, which was one too many.
The biography of the author, common to all five reissues, is admirable. However the introduction to the three books featuring Glide is oddly imbalanced, a large proportion being taken up by information about " The Mystery of the Blue Train" in order to effect a comparison between Christie's Mr Goby and Dalton's Hermann Glide. I think the likeness is very tenuous.
It is interesting that spiritualism features in the plot, as it played a major part in Sayer's "Strong Poison", also first published in 1930.
Very readable.
3.5 stars
October 15, 2020
I enjoy Moray Dalton's books so much - this is actually my least favorite of the handful that are back in print - well, available as e-books, at any rate. The mystery somehow doesn't come together, despite its intriguing developments mid-stride; I think it suffers from the lack of a good, centralizing invetigation.
Herman Glide has to be the most ridiculous sleuth thought up by a Golden Age writer. Him and his damn modeling wax! I want to pin his hands to his desk.
Herman Glide has to be the most ridiculous sleuth thought up by a Golden Age writer. Him and his damn modeling wax! I want to pin his hands to his desk.
June 14, 2023
Really liked this book. I liked the characters, all being described well, and the plot was more complicated than I had first thought. I really thought I knew who the murderer was but then dismissed them, as the story became more complicated. I do like the idea of Hermann Glide being unconventional, he certainly added to the book. I won't say anymore about this book as I don't want to spoil it in any way.
January 4, 2024
Review to follow.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews