The Spiked Lion: An Anthony Bathurst Mystery

Anthony Bathurst #13

by Brian Flynn

“Did you hear, during these last few days, any mention from your brother of an animal?” Amazingly, she nodded! “Yes . . . I heard him refer once—to a spiked lion.” John Pender Blundell, a codebreaker in the Great War, is found dead in Bushey Park. He met his end, despite the savaged appearance of his body, from cyanide poisoning. Another similar death is soon discovered, and then yet another. With no apparent connection, Bathurst finds himself faced with a serious puzzle. How do the events link to the recently returned-from-apparent-death heir to the title of Lord Trensham? And what exactly is the spiked lion? The Spiked Lion was first published in 1933. This new edition features an introduction by Steve Barge. “Bathurst’s solution, a characteristic shared with the other excellent Flynn novels, is construed with unerring logic and its every step accompanied by an unfailing interest.” New York Times

Genres: Mystery

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

"Brian Flynn, English author and an accountant in government service, a lecturer in elocution and speech, an amateur actor. He wrote about 50 novels, mostly for the library market. His serial character is Anthony Bathurst." - fantasticfiction.com

Also wrote under the pseudonym Charles Wogan.

Reviews

[Puzzle Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch golden age mystery. Full review at classicmystery.wordpress.com

[Alon Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lion imagery reminded me of The Hound of the Baskervilles in that they both connected the image of an animal (and the terror it brought) with murder and made an interesting premise. I kind of wish the cryptography/inscription aspect figured more heavily into the story. There's a part where the sleuth figures out a puzzle through some letters but it was too simple...I kind of wanted more, given that there was a bit of info on lions in heraldic symbols, etc.

Other than that, it was an entertaining read. I like the way the main sleuth addresses and questions the other characters. While not as quirky as Poirot or other detectives, he seems intelligent and likable. Brian Flynn's stories are golden age whodunnits first and foremost, but something about the way he writes the characters remind me a bit of hard boiled detective novels.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3

Another okay novel in this series.
Nice twisty plot but must admit that the main characters still aren’t grabbing my attention.
Am a third of the way through the series and apart from a couple I really didn’t like the rest have been middling in interest, plots or characters.

Might change my reading plans for this year rather than one title per month along with a Bobby Owen I might switch to every other month alternating between the two series.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly average outing for Bathurst with a rather long-winded explanation. It features some glaringly obvious clues, and others quite unfairly obscure.

Three murders and a long-lost claimant to a noble title, along with some cryptology and heraldry make up a rather doughy mix.

Not my favourite in the latest batch.

3.5 stars.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Christophe Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable British Golden Age detection/mystery tale. The plot is pleasantly mystifying and the writing smooth. The book's only definite weakness is that the solution revealed by the protagonist in the last two chapters involves too much information known to the protagonist but withheld from the reader, as well as a few guesses.