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King of Detectives #3
Chantecoq and the Haunted House
In 1920s France, the king of detectives takes on a new batch of baffling cases in a series of traditional crime adventure thrillers.
What is the secret of Ker-Yvette House?
Up and coming artist Jean Lachesnaye lives an idyllic life with his wife Yvette and infant son in Ker-Yvette, his villa on Brittany's Quiberon coast. But when a convivial dinner party gives way to a night of supernatural chaos, the dream begins to unravel. His servants abandon him, and during the course of a second nightmarish evening of ghostly incidents, his baby son vanishes, replaced by a sickly child at death's door. His child stolen, his wife driven insane, and his whole life in tatters, Lachesnaye is desperate. But fortuitously a private investigator from Paris is on holiday in the region... Chantecoq. King of detectives, master of disguise.Cutting short his holiday, France's greatest bloodhound swings into action with his faithful secretary Météor. To unravel the mystery of this haunted house, and to reunite a fractured family. Far from Paris, Chantecoq calls on all his skill, theatricality, and daring, in this fast-paced and witty adventure full of smugglers' passages, shocking betrayals, and all-conquering love. First published in France in 1929 (as "La Maison Hantée"), this new English translation is part of the "Further Exploits of Chantecoq" series, which sees the secret agent and expert spy catcher of Chantecoq and the Aubry Affair reborn as the greatest private detective of his age.
PRAISE FOR CHANTECOQ"An old-world charming detective with the cleverness of Sherlock Holmes and the personality of a warm, humorous continental gentleman"
"If you love Sherlock Holmes, you'll love Chantecoq. Charming and entertaining"
"I recommend this book to any Holmes, Poirot, or Agatha Christie fan"
"For those of you that are like me and have read every Sherlock and Hercule book, this is a boon. A return to what is a real detective story."
ALSO AVAILABLEChantecoq and the Aubry AffairChantecoq and Wilhelm's Made in GermanyChantecoq and Wilhelm's The Enemy WithinChantecoq and Wilhelm's The Day of ReckoningBelphé Chantecoq and the Phantom of the Louvre Chantecoq and the Mystery of the Blue Train Chantecoq and the Haunted House Chantecoq and the Aviator's Crime Chantecoq and ZapataChantecoq and the Amorous Ogre Chantecoq and the Père-Lachaise Ghost Chantecoq and the Condemned Woman Chantecoq and the LadykillerChantecoq and the Devil's Daughter
What is the secret of Ker-Yvette House?
Up and coming artist Jean Lachesnaye lives an idyllic life with his wife Yvette and infant son in Ker-Yvette, his villa on Brittany's Quiberon coast. But when a convivial dinner party gives way to a night of supernatural chaos, the dream begins to unravel. His servants abandon him, and during the course of a second nightmarish evening of ghostly incidents, his baby son vanishes, replaced by a sickly child at death's door. His child stolen, his wife driven insane, and his whole life in tatters, Lachesnaye is desperate. But fortuitously a private investigator from Paris is on holiday in the region... Chantecoq. King of detectives, master of disguise.Cutting short his holiday, France's greatest bloodhound swings into action with his faithful secretary Météor. To unravel the mystery of this haunted house, and to reunite a fractured family. Far from Paris, Chantecoq calls on all his skill, theatricality, and daring, in this fast-paced and witty adventure full of smugglers' passages, shocking betrayals, and all-conquering love. First published in France in 1929 (as "La Maison Hantée"), this new English translation is part of the "Further Exploits of Chantecoq" series, which sees the secret agent and expert spy catcher of Chantecoq and the Aubry Affair reborn as the greatest private detective of his age.
PRAISE FOR CHANTECOQ"An old-world charming detective with the cleverness of Sherlock Holmes and the personality of a warm, humorous continental gentleman"
"If you love Sherlock Holmes, you'll love Chantecoq. Charming and entertaining"
"I recommend this book to any Holmes, Poirot, or Agatha Christie fan"
"For those of you that are like me and have read every Sherlock and Hercule book, this is a boon. A return to what is a real detective story."
ALSO AVAILABLEChantecoq and the Aubry AffairChantecoq and Wilhelm's Made in GermanyChantecoq and Wilhelm's The Enemy WithinChantecoq and Wilhelm's The Day of ReckoningBelphé Chantecoq and the Phantom of the Louvre Chantecoq and the Mystery of the Blue Train Chantecoq and the Haunted House Chantecoq and the Aviator's Crime Chantecoq and ZapataChantecoq and the Amorous Ogre Chantecoq and the Père-Lachaise Ghost Chantecoq and the Condemned Woman Chantecoq and the LadykillerChantecoq and the Devil's Daughter
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 24, 2019
9 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 29, 2021
Again, I received a free copy of the book in return for a review. This is my opinion though!
Chantecoq is back solving mysteries again. This time, his holiday is interrupted by the disappearence of a young baby after some ghostly events...
I didn't enjoy this story as much as the first. Not that it wasn't good, I think it's more that chantecoq doesn't appear for ages as there is so much set up! However, once he appears, the story starts motoring and thing are much more fun. I struggled with one of the first logical deductions, but unlike the first book, the rest of the mystery unravelled with no surprises
Audio: much improved from book 1. No discernible noise on the line this time, and I very much enjoyed the accents. Some pauses between chapters were a little long, and there needed to be some pauses between scenes, but that's just me being picky :)
Chantecoq is back solving mysteries again. This time, his holiday is interrupted by the disappearence of a young baby after some ghostly events...
I didn't enjoy this story as much as the first. Not that it wasn't good, I think it's more that chantecoq doesn't appear for ages as there is so much set up! However, once he appears, the story starts motoring and thing are much more fun. I struggled with one of the first logical deductions, but unlike the first book, the rest of the mystery unravelled with no surprises
Audio: much improved from book 1. No discernible noise on the line this time, and I very much enjoyed the accents. Some pauses between chapters were a little long, and there needed to be some pauses between scenes, but that's just me being picky :)
May 2, 2024
A bit of a stretch, but a happy payoff
In the story, a mother's child is abducted and replaced with a more sickly infant. The mother labors under the delusion that her own child has taken sickly, but she believes it is still her baby. The veil is lifted once her own baby is restored to her and she realized she must have been mad. That seems to be a bit of a stretch for that delusion to last for 48 hours coma but it's a book written in the 1920s and we didn't know as much about mental health.
Still, it's a happy ending and I can't complain.
In the story, a mother's child is abducted and replaced with a more sickly infant. The mother labors under the delusion that her own child has taken sickly, but she believes it is still her baby. The veil is lifted once her own baby is restored to her and she realized she must have been mad. That seems to be a bit of a stretch for that delusion to last for 48 hours coma but it's a book written in the 1920s and we didn't know as much about mental health.
Still, it's a happy ending and I can't complain.
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April 25, 2021Of the three Chantecoq novels I've read, I enjoyed this the most. A modern reader might have difficulty accepting the MC as the best in everything he turns his attention to, but all in all, this was a satisfying mystery. My only quibble is the amount of modern slang used in the translation. Having characters in the 1920s say Sweet! is a bit of a distraction.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2020
True Mystery
This is a true mystery, well-developed characters, completely resolved, and a stand-alone book.
I like the Chantecoq series. They are clean but not full of fluff like cozy mysteries often are.
This is a true mystery, well-developed characters, completely resolved, and a stand-alone book.
I like the Chantecoq series. They are clean but not full of fluff like cozy mysteries often are.
January 10, 2022
Charming and entertaining
Classic gentleman detective tale, perfect for fans of old fashioned mystery. Reminiscent of both Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, this story was a delight to read
Classic gentleman detective tale, perfect for fans of old fashioned mystery. Reminiscent of both Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, this story was a delight to read
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews