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Doctor Manson #2
Murder Jigsaw
"Jiminy! He's going to fish for him."
A small Cornish fishing hotel, The Tremarden Arms, is renowned for its adjacent waters where guests fish for salmon and trout. The unpleasant Colonel Donoughmore is found drowned in a salmon pool in the hotel grounds. He was dressed for fishing and his rod was on the bank nearby. The local Police concluded it was an unfortunate accident but Doctor Manson finds two peculiar circumstances which convinced him that this was a skilfully contrived murder. There were fellow fishermen out on the river banks near to where the Colonel was found dead, two of whom had publicly uttered threats against him. Furthermore, several other hotel guests had strong financial motives for removing him.
Murder Jigsaw was originally published in 1944. This new edition includes an introduction by crime fiction historian Nigel Moss.
"Murder Jigsaw is a return to the type of detective story of which we have not had enough lately" Elizabeth Bowen
"If these Radfords can keep writing thrillers of this class, they are going to take their rightful place very near the top" Liverpool Evening Express
"This reader found Doctor Manson's methods of working quite absorbing" Queen
A small Cornish fishing hotel, The Tremarden Arms, is renowned for its adjacent waters where guests fish for salmon and trout. The unpleasant Colonel Donoughmore is found drowned in a salmon pool in the hotel grounds. He was dressed for fishing and his rod was on the bank nearby. The local Police concluded it was an unfortunate accident but Doctor Manson finds two peculiar circumstances which convinced him that this was a skilfully contrived murder. There were fellow fishermen out on the river banks near to where the Colonel was found dead, two of whom had publicly uttered threats against him. Furthermore, several other hotel guests had strong financial motives for removing him.
Murder Jigsaw was originally published in 1944. This new edition includes an introduction by crime fiction historian Nigel Moss.
"Murder Jigsaw is a return to the type of detective story of which we have not had enough lately" Elizabeth Bowen
"If these Radfords can keep writing thrillers of this class, they are going to take their rightful place very near the top" Liverpool Evening Express
"This reader found Doctor Manson's methods of working quite absorbing" Queen
- GenresMystery
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1944
About the author
E. Radford
43 booksEdwin Isaac Radford, 1891-1973, b. in Staffordshire
See also Edwin Radford
See also Edwin Radford
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 7, 2019
I have to say yet again that Manson is but a a poor imitation of Dr. Thorndyke without his charm. He is also a very annoying know-all.
March 17, 2019
I found this to be one of quite the most mind-numbingly dull and boring detective novels I have read. I am no stranger to the intricacies and precision of Freeman and Crofts, but this was beyond endurance.
The main character, Chief Detective-Inspector Manson of Scotland Yard and Head of its Crime Research Laboratory, is a Doctor of Science, a Doctor of Laws and author of several standard works on medical jurisprudence (of which he is a Professor) and criminal pathology.This does not make him at all interesting.
The investigation into the murder of a much-disliked retired Colonel while on holiday in a Cornish fishing hotel is painstaking. The writing and plotting are condescending to the reader and are, at times, peculiar.
The Introduction, with biographical and bibliographic information, is very useful.
The main character, Chief Detective-Inspector Manson of Scotland Yard and Head of its Crime Research Laboratory, is a Doctor of Science, a Doctor of Laws and author of several standard works on medical jurisprudence (of which he is a Professor) and criminal pathology.This does not make him at all interesting.
The investigation into the murder of a much-disliked retired Colonel while on holiday in a Cornish fishing hotel is painstaking. The writing and plotting are condescending to the reader and are, at times, peculiar.
The Introduction, with biographical and bibliographic information, is very useful.
May 20, 2019
This appears to borrow heavily from Cyril Ware's terrific 'Death Is No Sportsman' but unfortunately struggles to match Ware's pacing and characterisation. Very much in the 'puzzle' genre (as you'd guess from the title!) so if you have a penchant for that particular genre you might enjoy it more than I did.
May 13, 2021
This is sad and disappointing. I enjoyed reading this book very much and was looking eagerly to a satisfying solution to the mystery — and I don't know, maybe I missed something but the murderer came out of nowhere!
So what I really wanted to do is give this only a 2.5 star rating. I was so looking forward to reading this, the second in the Dr. Manson mysteries created by the husband and wife team of Edwin and Mona Radford. It came out in 1944 at the tale end of the Golden Age crime fiction detectives and it very much reflects that era. And the Radfords were pretty prolific: 38 novels published between 1944 and 1972, 35 of whom feature Manson.
The tale is fascinating: In a small Cornish fishing hotel, a group of fishing enthusiasts gather for a week of fishing. Among those guests — Dr. Harry Manson, a chief detective-inspector and head of Scotland Yard's Crime Research Laboratory, and ex-Indian Army Colonel Donoughmore, disliked by pretty much everyone.
Everyone else has shown up that night, all but Donoughmore, who the next day is discovered in one of the fishing holes, an apparent drowning victim. Only Manson suspects something more.
And what I so enjoyed is not only are the setting and dialogue but the way the Radfords put the reader in the midst of the action, learning the clues and the red herrings as Manson and his associates discover them. It makes it very fun reading.
But I was taken totally by surprise by the ending. There was perhaps one vague clue disconnected to everything else, and the murderer is introduced at the beginning only. Almost as an afterthought and certainly not a suspect to be explored, questioned and considered.
So while this is a good story and the solution is a good, logical one, getting there was a major disappointment for me as a reader.
So what I really wanted to do is give this only a 2.5 star rating. I was so looking forward to reading this, the second in the Dr. Manson mysteries created by the husband and wife team of Edwin and Mona Radford. It came out in 1944 at the tale end of the Golden Age crime fiction detectives and it very much reflects that era. And the Radfords were pretty prolific: 38 novels published between 1944 and 1972, 35 of whom feature Manson.
The tale is fascinating: In a small Cornish fishing hotel, a group of fishing enthusiasts gather for a week of fishing. Among those guests — Dr. Harry Manson, a chief detective-inspector and head of Scotland Yard's Crime Research Laboratory, and ex-Indian Army Colonel Donoughmore, disliked by pretty much everyone.
Everyone else has shown up that night, all but Donoughmore, who the next day is discovered in one of the fishing holes, an apparent drowning victim. Only Manson suspects something more.
And what I so enjoyed is not only are the setting and dialogue but the way the Radfords put the reader in the midst of the action, learning the clues and the red herrings as Manson and his associates discover them. It makes it very fun reading.
But I was taken totally by surprise by the ending. There was perhaps one vague clue disconnected to everything else, and the murderer is introduced at the beginning only. Almost as an afterthought and certainly not a suspect to be explored, questioned and considered.
So while this is a good story and the solution is a good, logical one, getting there was a major disappointment for me as a reader.
June 11, 2019
While I enjoy some of the writing, Doctor Manson is such an infuriating, know-it-all-about-everything that I wonder how he's not the victim in these books. I liked the third book from these authors (the one about Cricket; the name escapes me) the best and I made the mistake to read this one. Unless you're an insomniac looking for something, anything to help put you to sleep, I really cannot recommend this book.
December 7, 2022
Excellent
Another excellent old fashioned police procedural where every alibi is checked and double checked and sometimes triple checked. Today with mobile phones and cctv the criminal has a lot more against him than when this was written.
Another excellent old fashioned police procedural where every alibi is checked and double checked and sometimes triple checked. Today with mobile phones and cctv the criminal has a lot more against him than when this was written.
February 27, 2020
A very enjoyable mystery though I found details of fly fishing hard to follow. It was still a really enjoyable read.
May 17, 2020
Angling for a mystery
A strong and complex tale that will keep you guessing until the catch, I have been hooked by the clever writing, played by the plot and landed on the reveal.
A strong and complex tale that will keep you guessing until the catch, I have been hooked by the clever writing, played by the plot and landed on the reveal.
August 26, 2025
Solid stuff.
I have wanted to read these for years. Good solid,not quite top notch. I will happily read the rest of them if they appear.
I have wanted to read these for years. Good solid,not quite top notch. I will happily read the rest of them if they appear.
April 24, 2026
Plodding police procedural with a lot of fishing.
April 26, 2025
Hmm, I thought I liked scientific murder mysteries, since I liked the Dr. Thorndyke mysteries I've read, and this 1944 novel was compared to those. But, although well-written, this was very dull. Sixty pages in: no character development. DNF.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews