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The Assistant Murderer
The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow.
Sabine Baring-Gould was born in Exeter in 1834. His father took the family on a series of European tours that were to last most of his childhood. During a brief period of schooling in Mannheim he discovered Nordic literature, sparking an interest in folklore, philology and antiquarian pursuits that was to shape his life. Baring-Gould's father forbade him to enter the church on pain of disinheritance. He became a teacher after he graduated and at the age of thirty, finally overcame his father's objections and became a priest. At Baring-Gould's first post at Horbury, Yorkshire, he met the teenage mill-girl, Grace Taylor, whom he married. They had 15 children. He also started to collect and publish folklore, household tales, and songs from the mill-workers and boat-people who were his special charge. In 1881 he returned to the family home at Lewtrenchard in West Devon. He was, by then, established as a writer of more than 1,200 books and magazine articles. These funded work to rebuild the house, church and estate that had been neglected by his father and grandfather.
Sabine Baring-Gould was born in Exeter in 1834. His father took the family on a series of European tours that were to last most of his childhood. During a brief period of schooling in Mannheim he discovered Nordic literature, sparking an interest in folklore, philology and antiquarian pursuits that was to shape his life. Baring-Gould's father forbade him to enter the church on pain of disinheritance. He became a teacher after he graduated and at the age of thirty, finally overcame his father's objections and became a priest. At Baring-Gould's first post at Horbury, Yorkshire, he met the teenage mill-girl, Grace Taylor, whom he married. They had 15 children. He also started to collect and publish folklore, household tales, and songs from the mill-workers and boat-people who were his special charge. In 1881 he returned to the family home at Lewtrenchard in West Devon. He was, by then, established as a writer of more than 1,200 books and magazine articles. These funded work to rebuild the house, church and estate that had been neglected by his father and grandfather.
57 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1926
About the author
Sabine Baring-Gould
901 books71 followersSabine Baring-Gould was born in the parish of St Sidwell, Exeter. The eldest son of Edward Baring-Gould and his first wife, Sophia Charlotte (née Bond), he was named after a great-uncle, the Arctic explorer Sir Edward Sabine. Because the family spent much of his childhood travelling round Europe, most of his education was by private tutors. He only spent about two years in formal schooling, first at King's College School in London (then located in Somerset House) and then, for a few months, at Warwick Grammar School (now Warwick School). Here his time was ended by a bronchial disease of the kind that was to plague him throughout his long life. His father considered his ill-health as a good reason for another European tour.
In 1852 he was admitted to Cambridge University, earning the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1857, then Master of Arts in 1860 from Clare College, Cambridge. During 1864, he became the curate at Horbury Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. It was while acting as a curate that he met Grace Taylor, the daughter of a mill hand, then aged fourteen. In the next few years they fell in love. His vicar, John Sharp, arranged for Grace to live for two years with relatives in York to learn middle class manners. Baring-Gould, meanwhile, relocated to become perpetual curate at Dalton, near Thirsk. He and Grace were married in 1868 at Wakefield. Their marriage lasted until her death 48 years later, and the couple had 15 children, all but one of whom lived to adulthood. When he buried his wife in 1916 he had carved on her tombstone the Latin motto Dimidium Animae Meae ("Half my Soul").
Baring-Gould became the rector of East Mersea in Essex in 1871 and spent ten years there. In 1872 his father died and he inherited the 3,000 acre (12 km²) family estates of Lew Trenchard in Devon, which included the gift of the living of Lew Trenchard parish. When the living became vacant in 1881, he was able to appoint himself to it, becoming parson as well as squire. He did a great deal of work restoring St Peter's Church, Lew Trenchard, and (from 1883 – 1914) thoroughly remodelled his home, Lew Trenchard Manor.
In 1852 he was admitted to Cambridge University, earning the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1857, then Master of Arts in 1860 from Clare College, Cambridge. During 1864, he became the curate at Horbury Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. It was while acting as a curate that he met Grace Taylor, the daughter of a mill hand, then aged fourteen. In the next few years they fell in love. His vicar, John Sharp, arranged for Grace to live for two years with relatives in York to learn middle class manners. Baring-Gould, meanwhile, relocated to become perpetual curate at Dalton, near Thirsk. He and Grace were married in 1868 at Wakefield. Their marriage lasted until her death 48 years later, and the couple had 15 children, all but one of whom lived to adulthood. When he buried his wife in 1916 he had carved on her tombstone the Latin motto Dimidium Animae Meae ("Half my Soul").
Baring-Gould became the rector of East Mersea in Essex in 1871 and spent ten years there. In 1872 his father died and he inherited the 3,000 acre (12 km²) family estates of Lew Trenchard in Devon, which included the gift of the living of Lew Trenchard parish. When the living became vacant in 1881, he was able to appoint himself to it, becoming parson as well as squire. He did a great deal of work restoring St Peter's Church, Lew Trenchard, and (from 1883 – 1914) thoroughly remodelled his home, Lew Trenchard Manor.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 24, 2012
Simply BRILLIANT!!! Read it aloud with my teens and it kept us guessing what would happen at the end as well as literally laughing out loud at the "ugly" descriptions. Hahaha Thorougly enjoyed this gem.
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December 5, 2021I like the turn of phrase, but I think I need to read Hammett on the page, rather than Audio. Nothing against the reader, who did a great job, some writing styles just dont click for me if I'm not reading it on the page.
March 8, 2025
Well written, thought provoking, brief
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June 30, 2022Entertaining listening 🎧
Another will written murder mystery adventure thriller by Dashiell Hammett about a murder of a rich man. The heir is a woman who marries a con man. The detective investiagates and solves the crime to the conclusion. I would recommend this novella to readers of murder mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading all kinds of novels and books. 2022
Another will written murder mystery adventure thriller by Dashiell Hammett about a murder of a rich man. The heir is a woman who marries a con man. The detective investiagates and solves the crime to the conclusion. I would recommend this novella to readers of murder mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading all kinds of novels and books. 2022
March 28, 2020
A great little mystery by one of the great mystery writers of all time.
September 29, 2020
Quick and decent read. Women in the 20's sure were more vicious in Hammett's world than most other authors of that time.
October 13, 2021
A nice little short story with quite a few twists in it to keep you interested. This one doesn’t have Spade as the lead, but a very ugly looking bloke instead. Recommended.
October 31, 2023
Twisty as a two-flavored soft-serve cone with a red licorice chaser. Or maybe a better metaphor would be one of those dragon-themed roller coasters, since reading it was such a fun ride. Recommended
June 11, 2016
Though plot-centric, TAM took a while to set-up considering its small size. However, the ending more than made up for the slightly lopsided experience; it was clever and tied up the story's various flailing ends in a satisfying way as would be expected by a novel in this genre. At very least this book makes 'par for the course' for the private-detective/thiswouldhavemadeagoodfilmnoir genre. TAM held my attention constantly and was an enjoyable light read.
June 7, 2011
Private detective Alec Rush is not the typical PI in that he is not handsome, in fact he's quite ugly, and women aren't falling all over him. Definitely not in the James Bond mold. He does, however, get the job done. This is no Maltese Falcon but Alec is a grubby gumshoe in the mold of that classic.
November 24, 2011
Short but good crime noir
December 31, 2011
I love a good classic hard-boiled detective story, and Hammett is a master at serving up all the best cliches.
January 18, 2012
Too many twists and turns.
June 25, 2014
Alec Rush is a burly, kicked off the force, ugly as hell, hard boiled private eye in a--nobody is who they appear to be--short novelette. Fun dark humor throughout.
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December 24, 2014never ceases to surprise me, this ending
May 12, 2019
this is a short. nothing special but worth trying more by the author.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews