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Inspector French #5
Inspector French and the Box Office Murders
From the Collins Crime Club archive, the fifth Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’.
THE PUZZLE OF THE PURPLE SICKLE
The suicide of a sales clerk at the box office of a London cinema leaves another girl in fear for her life. Persuaded to seek help from Scotland Yard, Miss Darke confides in Inspector Joseph French about a gambling scam by a mysterious trio of crooks and that she believes her friend was murdered. When the girl fails to turn up the next day, and the police later find her body, French’s inquiries reveal that similar girls have also been murdered, all linked by their jobs and by a sinister stranger with a purple scar . . .
THE PUZZLE OF THE PURPLE SICKLE
The suicide of a sales clerk at the box office of a London cinema leaves another girl in fear for her life. Persuaded to seek help from Scotland Yard, Miss Darke confides in Inspector Joseph French about a gambling scam by a mysterious trio of crooks and that she believes her friend was murdered. When the girl fails to turn up the next day, and the police later find her body, French’s inquiries reveal that similar girls have also been murdered, all linked by their jobs and by a sinister stranger with a purple scar . . .
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1929
43 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Freeman Wills Crofts
138 books89 followersBorn in Dublin of English stock, Freeman Wills Crofts was educated at Methodist and Campbell Colleges in Belfast and at age 17 he became a civil engineering pupil, apprenticed to his uncle, Berkeley D Wise who was the chief engineer of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR).
In 1899 he became a fully fledged railway engineer before becoming a district engineer and then chief assistant engineer for the BNCR.
He married in 1912, Mary Bellas Canning, a bank manager's daughter. His writing career began when he was recovering from a serious illness and his efforts were rewarded when his first novel 'The Cask' was accepted for publication by a London publishing house. Within two decades the book had sold 100,000 copies. Thereafter he continued to write in his spare time and produced a book a year through to 1929 when he was obliged to stop working through poor health.
When he and his wife moved to Guildford, England, he took up writing full time and not surprisingly many of his plots revolved around travel and transport, particularly transport timetables and many of them had a Guildford setting.
In retirement from engineering, as well as writing, he also pursued his other interests, music, in which he was an organist and conductor, gardening, carpentry and travel.
He wrote a mystery novel almost every year until his death and in addition he produced about 50 short stories, 30 radio plays for the BBC, a number of true crime works, a play, 'Sudden Death', a juvenile mystery, 'Young Robin Brand, Detective', and a religious work, 'The Four Gospels in One Story'.
His best known character is Inspector Joseph French, who featured in 30 detective novels between 1924 and 1957. And Raymond Chandler praised his plots, calling him "the soundest builder of them all".
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
In 1899 he became a fully fledged railway engineer before becoming a district engineer and then chief assistant engineer for the BNCR.
He married in 1912, Mary Bellas Canning, a bank manager's daughter. His writing career began when he was recovering from a serious illness and his efforts were rewarded when his first novel 'The Cask' was accepted for publication by a London publishing house. Within two decades the book had sold 100,000 copies. Thereafter he continued to write in his spare time and produced a book a year through to 1929 when he was obliged to stop working through poor health.
When he and his wife moved to Guildford, England, he took up writing full time and not surprisingly many of his plots revolved around travel and transport, particularly transport timetables and many of them had a Guildford setting.
In retirement from engineering, as well as writing, he also pursued his other interests, music, in which he was an organist and conductor, gardening, carpentry and travel.
He wrote a mystery novel almost every year until his death and in addition he produced about 50 short stories, 30 radio plays for the BBC, a number of true crime works, a play, 'Sudden Death', a juvenile mystery, 'Young Robin Brand, Detective', and a religious work, 'The Four Gospels in One Story'.
His best known character is Inspector Joseph French, who featured in 30 detective novels between 1924 and 1957. And Raymond Chandler praised his plots, calling him "the soundest builder of them all".
Gerry Wolstenholme
May 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 3, 2021
Freeman Wills Crofts regularly outsold Agatha Christie, according to the bio in my edition of this book. I am gobsmacked! It says he was continually praised for his ingenious plotting and meticulous attention to detail. I certainly won’t disagree with the latter! I have never read such ponderous writing, such ponderous plot building or such a ponderous conclusion. Meticulous = painstaking = dreary and often turgid. It’s also laughably melodramatic at times.
The plot itself is not a straightforward whodunnit as we know fairly early on who did it and how, just not why. There is a gaping inconsistency in the logic of the plot about halfway through.
So why did I finish reading this book? Heaven knows! Call it morbid fascination!
The plot itself is not a straightforward whodunnit as we know fairly early on who did it and how, just not why. There is a gaping inconsistency in the logic of the plot about halfway through.
So why did I finish reading this book? Heaven knows! Call it morbid fascination!
July 9, 2018
This is my sixth review of a Freeman Wills Crofts book. This novel is written in a fluid style making it an easy read. It benefits from being much shorter than the other novels that I have read (by at least 50-70 pages) so that Crofts doesn't fall into his usual reiteration of the facts over the last 50 or so pages - which always irritates me. The storyline is intriguing and doesn't involved Crofts normal alibi busting or timetable based puzzles. The story is almost a police procedural and shows Inspector French actually working with two other detectives and other specialised people within Scotland Yard. Even his wife makes two appearances and shows French with a more human side as he gets frustrated at his own inability to crack what the actual crime is all about. Also in this novel French doesn't go whizzing off left, right and centre spending taxpayers money without concern but mostly stays put in London and an occasion trek towards Kent or Hampshire. The flaws: at least 5 times in the story French breaks into private property without a warrant to search so that he appears more like Sherlock than a CID Inspector - I wouldn't have thought he would last long at Scotland Yard doing that many break-ins - also Crofts has one scene where French & two other detectives follow 4 different people - who are all in different locations (he forgot to count). Lastly the ending happens all of a sudden which may be too quick for some readers. As a classic crime novel I really enjoyed reading this novel especially as the storyline (which is clever) takes a long time for French to suss out and he doesn't repeat the evidence in a big summing up at the end - and he doesn't use convenient coincidences in order to catch the criminals. I would give this book 9 out of 10.
July 7, 2016
There's a crime ring in London targeting the girls who work in cinema box-offices. Inspector French knows that, because one of the girls was desperate enough to come to him for help before she was kidnapped and murdered. But he and his staff can't figure out what the purpose of the ring is--how they're making money from blackmailing the girls to do their work. As he gradually unfolds the workings of the ring, he persuades another box-office girl to confide in him, and she is in turn kidnapped. Driven by his fear for her and his outrage at the criminal misconduct, he finds himself in a car chase that may end in his own death.
March 29, 2024
A good plot and not as dry as some of his books.
February 12, 2012
This pre-WWII mystery is a classic police procedural. Inspector French of the Yard starts to suspect that cinema box office girls are falling prey to a gang, with murder - usually disguised as suicide- sometimes resulting. But what is the gang up to ? By laborious police work of the tedious kind (shadowing suspects, interviewing bank managers, going through old files), he can track the gang down.
This book is very different from most modern mysteries. To start with, it's pretty clear who killed the box office girls. The real question is what the gang is up to - is it blackmail, it is espionage, is it drug dealing? And the final answer is not something that a 21st century reader would have come up with as a first choice. Second, there is not a lot of psychological characterization in the books. Inspector French is a bit of a petit bourgeois, with a quiet domestic life, a little like Inspector Maigret. We know that he is good at winning witnesses' confidence, and that's about it. No tortured interior life, no crippling self-doubts, no lurking substance abuse problems. A refreshingly ordinary police functionary. Finally, most of the book is very descriptive. It is all about following suspects through London, about discussing the tides in order to figure out where a dead body could have been dropped into the sea, etc. No spectacular car chases, no gun battles, except at the very end. I gave the book two stars because between the lack of characterization and the lack of action, the book did feel a little boring sometimes. That being said, lovers of Golden Age mysteries may enjoy this.
This book is very different from most modern mysteries. To start with, it's pretty clear who killed the box office girls. The real question is what the gang is up to - is it blackmail, it is espionage, is it drug dealing? And the final answer is not something that a 21st century reader would have come up with as a first choice. Second, there is not a lot of psychological characterization in the books. Inspector French is a bit of a petit bourgeois, with a quiet domestic life, a little like Inspector Maigret. We know that he is good at winning witnesses' confidence, and that's about it. No tortured interior life, no crippling self-doubts, no lurking substance abuse problems. A refreshingly ordinary police functionary. Finally, most of the book is very descriptive. It is all about following suspects through London, about discussing the tides in order to figure out where a dead body could have been dropped into the sea, etc. No spectacular car chases, no gun battles, except at the very end. I gave the book two stars because between the lack of characterization and the lack of action, the book did feel a little boring sometimes. That being said, lovers of Golden Age mysteries may enjoy this.
May 2, 2024
A superb police procedural featuring Inspector French at his best. Really unusual plot which would be difficult to review without spoiling. Lots of very detailed detection detail which I find very enjoyable.
Crofts ratchets up the tension really well as the story unfolds. I would have given it five stars but the ending was a little convenient.
Crofts ratchets up the tension really well as the story unfolds. I would have given it five stars but the ending was a little convenient.
April 26, 2022
Again, there is no listing for the e-pub edition.
Anyway, I may read one more then give this series a break for a while. Though the plots and characters are interesting, his constant infantilizing of women, as was usual for the time they were written, starts to grate. They are never smart, they 'get a notion' or 'have an intuition'. And in this one, when he finally finds the kidnapped woman and saves her from being killed, he hugs her,which may be acceptable, but also kisses her twice - on the mouth. That was just too high on the gag meter.
So I can read these and enjoy them, but just in smaller doses.
Anyway, I may read one more then give this series a break for a while. Though the plots and characters are interesting, his constant infantilizing of women, as was usual for the time they were written, starts to grate. They are never smart, they 'get a notion' or 'have an intuition'. And in this one, when he finally finds the kidnapped woman and saves her from being killed, he hugs her,which may be acceptable, but also kisses her twice - on the mouth. That was just too high on the gag meter.
So I can read these and enjoy them, but just in smaller doses.
January 6, 2018
Inspector French and the Box Office Murders. Freeman Wills Crofts. First published in 1929 during the Golden Age of British crime writing when Crofts regularly outsold Agatha Christie. Inspector French of Scotland Yard finds himself involved in a series of supposed suicides of young women working in the box offices of London theatres. He soon realizes there is something much more sinister afoot and he must work quickly to uncover the culprit and prevent another tragedy. A fine read for lovers of classic detective fiction.
Want to read
December 24, 2019Synopsis: the suicide of a sales clerk leaves another in fear for her life. She talks to Inspector Joseph French about a gambling scam.
September 14, 2025
I recently read the sixth Doctor Thorndyke mystery, by Austin R. Freeman, Freeman Wills Crofts' contemporary, and felt that the series was going downhill, with the author recycling his material and not coming up with much that was new. In contrast, this fifth Inspector French book shows improvement over the earlier ones, and growth in the author's abilities.
Firstly, French is less of a generic Everyman or a crime-solving plot device and more of a developed character. The fact that he talks to his wife about the case is part of this. He's done that once before in the series, but more briefly, and this longer interaction provides characterization for both of them. What's more, French displays emotion and uncertainty, his minor mistakes (and the bad, but very human, choices of other people) have consequences that increase the tension, he has an emotional connection to another character, and instead of a relatively brief action sequence at the end of a plodding police investigation, as in the earlier French books, there's an extended period spanning multiple chapters in which we're kept in suspense about the fate of a character and in which multiple action sequences, chases, fights and desperate attempts to escape occur.
It's a strong piece of work, with (as is usually the case with this author) clever criminals defeated by the perseverance and sound police work of the detective. While Austin R. Freeman's "reverse mystery" approach gave the TV series Columbo its most famous feature - that the audience knows who committed the crime from the beginning - the beloved scruffy detective himself owes a lot more to Freeman Wills Crofts, in whose books clever, arrogant criminals are brought down by persistence and sound methodology employed by a policeman with an ordinary background.
While I won't be reading more Austin W. Freeman, at least for a while, I definitely want to read more Freeman Wills Crofts, if this is any indication of the future direction of his work.
Firstly, French is less of a generic Everyman or a crime-solving plot device and more of a developed character. The fact that he talks to his wife about the case is part of this. He's done that once before in the series, but more briefly, and this longer interaction provides characterization for both of them. What's more, French displays emotion and uncertainty, his minor mistakes (and the bad, but very human, choices of other people) have consequences that increase the tension, he has an emotional connection to another character, and instead of a relatively brief action sequence at the end of a plodding police investigation, as in the earlier French books, there's an extended period spanning multiple chapters in which we're kept in suspense about the fate of a character and in which multiple action sequences, chases, fights and desperate attempts to escape occur.
It's a strong piece of work, with (as is usually the case with this author) clever criminals defeated by the perseverance and sound police work of the detective. While Austin R. Freeman's "reverse mystery" approach gave the TV series Columbo its most famous feature - that the audience knows who committed the crime from the beginning - the beloved scruffy detective himself owes a lot more to Freeman Wills Crofts, in whose books clever, arrogant criminals are brought down by persistence and sound methodology employed by a policeman with an ordinary background.
While I won't be reading more Austin W. Freeman, at least for a while, I definitely want to read more Freeman Wills Crofts, if this is any indication of the future direction of his work.
February 20, 2024
I'm still dipping into the "Golden Age" mysteries which have been republished and are appearing regularly on library shelves. This was originally published in 1929 and is #5 in the Insp. French series. It shows, unfortunately, in the plodding dialogue and prose. It's all Miss So-and-so and Mister Whozamajig - very formal. The police use techniques available at the time - interviews, financial information, following suspects, and sometimes even fingerprints. The plot is somewhat interesting, but this isn't a whodunnit, as we find out what and who are behind the murders well before the end.
Societal attitudes of the time prevail, so feminists will probably gnash their teeth.
Inspector French is an ordinary bloke, no huge moustaches or outlandish personality. He plods along, step by step, although he feels a degree of guilt at not preventing one of the killings. There's a touch of realism in that, I feel. French smoking his stinking pipe in someone's home (after asking, but who dared to say no) was common.
One minor detail is that, according to the front cover, it cost 3 bob for a movie ticket, which seems a bit expensive for that era.
I find books like this can be finished pretty quickly, admittedly skipping a bit here and there if the writing is too tedious.
I've awarded a rating of 3.6, so it scrapes into the 4 star category.
Societal attitudes of the time prevail, so feminists will probably gnash their teeth.
Inspector French is an ordinary bloke, no huge moustaches or outlandish personality. He plods along, step by step, although he feels a degree of guilt at not preventing one of the killings. There's a touch of realism in that, I feel. French smoking his stinking pipe in someone's home (after asking, but who dared to say no) was common.
One minor detail is that, according to the front cover, it cost 3 bob for a movie ticket, which seems a bit expensive for that era.
I find books like this can be finished pretty quickly, admittedly skipping a bit here and there if the writing is too tedious.
I've awarded a rating of 3.6, so it scrapes into the 4 star category.
January 3, 2019
Very middle-of-the-road Inspector French investigation into the mysterious activities of a group of London criminals. .It is neither the best nor the worst in the series.
The murders of three girls who work in the box offices of various cinemas are almost incidental to the working-out of what exactly the gang is up to.
French has no jaunts to foreign shores, nor are we faced with tedious timetables. Only a few references to tides, a muted car chase and some details of drain and ventilation systems show us we are in Croftsian territory.
Mrs French makes a couple of appearances and the Inspector indulges in some highly irregular breaking-and-entering, all of which adds to the fun.
3.5 stars
The murders of three girls who work in the box offices of various cinemas are almost incidental to the working-out of what exactly the gang is up to.
French has no jaunts to foreign shores, nor are we faced with tedious timetables. Only a few references to tides, a muted car chase and some details of drain and ventilation systems show us we are in Croftsian territory.
Mrs French makes a couple of appearances and the Inspector indulges in some highly irregular breaking-and-entering, all of which adds to the fun.
3.5 stars
June 3, 2021
Inspector French is approached by box office girl Thurza Darke about a gang driving girls around London using her to pick up money from locations around London and also worried that another girl has been killed. Before French could act Miss Darke is found murdered and he has to investigate the case from scratch. I'm fairly new to Freeman Wills Croft but I quite like Inspector French's style of slowly and painstakingly tracking down a gang of money forgers without being able to understand how the gang work their operation and why any girl who backs out will die. It's a good read and author worth following.
April 3, 2022
#5 in the Scotland Yard Inspector Joseph French mystery series.
A ruthless gang is using London cinema box office girls to carry out their illegal business. One goes to French with her story and then turns up dead. French investigates and soon connects this death to two earlier one. However, he doesn't know exactly what the gang is going.
Set in the 1920's, this is a police procedural as one follows French's investigation step by step as he tracks down clues and tries to piece evidence together to solve the case: find the murderers and discover exactly what the gang is doing.
A ruthless gang is using London cinema box office girls to carry out their illegal business. One goes to French with her story and then turns up dead. French investigates and soon connects this death to two earlier one. However, he doesn't know exactly what the gang is going.
Set in the 1920's, this is a police procedural as one follows French's investigation step by step as he tracks down clues and tries to piece evidence together to solve the case: find the murderers and discover exactly what the gang is doing.
October 25, 2020
If you like a puzzle...
Try this rather gentle (despite multiple murders!) Inspector French mystery. This story uncovers a counterfeiting scheme. Along the way, vulnerable young women are co-opted into participation, revealing societal expectations and manners, and the important place of movie theaters, in 1930s London.
French is his ever-cool and resolute self. There is tension without gore and a confounding-till-the-end mystery of how and why this counterfeiting occurs.
Try this rather gentle (despite multiple murders!) Inspector French mystery. This story uncovers a counterfeiting scheme. Along the way, vulnerable young women are co-opted into participation, revealing societal expectations and manners, and the important place of movie theaters, in 1930s London.
French is his ever-cool and resolute self. There is tension without gore and a confounding-till-the-end mystery of how and why this counterfeiting occurs.
December 27, 2018
A young woman who works in the box office of the London cinema falls in with a trio of crooks. She reports it to the Scotland Yard and ends up dead. Inspector French starts investigating and discovers other box office workers have been affected. Can he catch the shadowy trio?
A bit scary, but interesting and well-written
A bit scary, but interesting and well-written
May 24, 2020
Short and tightly crafted mystery by Crofts.Even though French was a bit slow about guessing the business of the criminals ,it was still quite suspenseful all the way.While its not in the same class as Hogs back or channel or Magill,its still a very nice mystery all the same.Its not really a whodunnit but why and howdunnit with a sprinkling of suspense thriller tropes like car chase and shootout .3.7 stars.
December 29, 2021
Maybe a great book for it's time. I feel like the story should have been a novella or possibly shorter. The take does seem grand in the 21st century. Inflation may make it hard to rationalize financial pressures when reading. The is no cast of characters with different personalities to figure out who did it. I would recommend passing on this book.
December 4, 2024
Intricate mystery, especially how the crime set-up worked. I love a police procedural, even one where Inspector French pays a little too much attention to how much glory and advancement he will get when he solves the crime. Just a little too self-congratulatory. And of course, it doesn't come off, quite what he expects.
May 22, 2025
3.5 stars
Enjoyed following along with Inspector French of Scotland Yard as he tried to figure out what the criminals were up to and how to stop them before there were more murders. Not one of those whodunnits where you can solve the mystery, but also not one where the author hides information from you. Lots of suspense right from the early chapters. A good read.
Enjoyed following along with Inspector French of Scotland Yard as he tried to figure out what the criminals were up to and how to stop them before there were more murders. Not one of those whodunnits where you can solve the mystery, but also not one where the author hides information from you. Lots of suspense right from the early chapters. A good read.
December 5, 2017
A great read! It's an old book so it's style and language is quite different from modern books and some words are decidedly strange.
That said it's a good tale and with enough clues to give you a chance at solving the crime but it's not so easy. I'm really enjoying some of FWCs books
That said it's a good tale and with enough clues to give you a chance at solving the crime but it's not so easy. I'm really enjoying some of FWCs books
November 30, 2021
Well this was one of the best books in the inspector French series. Definitely in the top three. Not too repetitive, pretty interesting, clever, captivating. I very much enjoyed the time spent reading this book.
August 28, 2024
5/5 stars!
Read my review here:
https://goldenageofdetectivefiction.c...
Read my review here:
https://goldenageofdetectivefiction.c...
June 27, 2020
The story is gripping and suspenful. Highly enjoyable.
January 18, 2021
Thoroughly enjoyed it, completely baffled by what was going on at first
September 29, 2022
had to return to the library so i didn’t ACTUALLY finish reading but it was good for the first half-ish i read lmao
April 9, 2023
Although rarely gripping (until the finale), this story, methodically told, is consistently interesting. The final portion is quite suspenseful.
January 1, 2024
An enjoyable yarn in which Scotland Yard chases down a ruthless gang of coiners.
June 22, 2025
Complex and satisfying late 1920s detective stories, well worth looking out.
July 21, 2025
Coin counterfeiters use box office change to introduce the fakes into the economy. But when the unwitting passers end up dead, the game is afoot.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews