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Chief Inspector Pointer #2
The Charteris Mystery: An Inspector Pointer Detective Story
When the body of Rose Charteris is found at the bottom of a sand pit off Medchester Common, everyone assumed it was the result of a tragic accident, but when Chief Inspector Pointer of Scotland Yard discovers certain discrepancies, it becomes clear the death of the young woman is a case of murder. There are plenty of suspects for the chief inspector; the dead woman’s jealous Italian fiancé, her cousin who would gain an inheritance, even a mysterious man who spent the night in the summer house unknown to anyone else. Yet Pointer finds himself drawn into a political intrigue that takes him to Genoa and the Italian Tyrol before finally resolving the case in his chambers in New Scotland Yard. The Charteris Mystery is the second of the Chief Inspector Pointer mysteries.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1925
About the author
A.E. Fielding
29 books5 followersA. Fielding (also known as Archibald Fielding or A.E. Fielding) was a pseudonym of Dorothy Feilding.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 7, 2024
There's a bit of tension in the air at the Charteris home and while there are no explosions, there is soon a death.
Young Rose Charteris, informally engaged to fascist Count Congrande di Monte, is found in the bottom of a sand pit off Medchester Common. Nearly everyone assumes that she had gone out early and misstepped — a tragic accident. But one of the houseguests is suspicious and soon get the attention of Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Pointer.
And Pointer finds plenty of suspicious things, making it clear this is murder. There are many potential suspects and clues.
A.E. Fielding has created a solid story — it does drag a bit and its more than a little overly complicated. That would be my chief complaint — this feels like someone wrote a doctoral thesis to do murder. There's the strange actions of Col. Scarlett and his daughter, the lady companion Mrs Lane — just who is she and why is she there? and even Thornton, a neighbor and the person who brought in Scotland Yard. And if you are inclined to try to solve the mystery as you read, can't do it here. There are too many unknowns that are shown at the very end.
Young Rose Charteris, informally engaged to fascist Count Congrande di Monte, is found in the bottom of a sand pit off Medchester Common. Nearly everyone assumes that she had gone out early and misstepped — a tragic accident. But one of the houseguests is suspicious and soon get the attention of Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Pointer.
And Pointer finds plenty of suspicious things, making it clear this is murder. There are many potential suspects and clues.
A.E. Fielding has created a solid story — it does drag a bit and its more than a little overly complicated. That would be my chief complaint — this feels like someone wrote a doctoral thesis to do murder. There's the strange actions of Col. Scarlett and his daughter, the lady companion Mrs Lane — just who is she and why is she there? and even Thornton, a neighbor and the person who brought in Scotland Yard. And if you are inclined to try to solve the mystery as you read, can't do it here. There are too many unknowns that are shown at the very end.
August 20, 2026
Rose Charteris, daughter of Professor Charteris (more on him in a moment), is found dead from a broken neck at the bottom of a sand pit on the estate of Colonel Scarlett. Scarlett has given over one wing of his home to the Charteris family to use whenever they are in England. The professor is off in Italy somewhere in pursuit of backers for his latest project (synthetic emeralds). Rose was engaged to Count di Monti, an Italian with fascist ties. Also on hand is Scarlett's daughter Sibella (who seems jealous of Rose); his housekeeper, Mrs. Lane; Mr. Thornton, a writer and family friend; and Arthur Bond & John Cockburn, who seem to come as a set and are apparently hooked up to the Foreign Office. There's some mystery over a letter Rose received from her father with an enclosure that has disappeared. And, while the local police and doctor seem to think Rose's death an accident, Thornton feels that there's something not quite right about the scene in the sand pit and calls up Scotland Yard off his own bat.
Enter Chief Inspector Pointer. The Yard can't come unless the locals request it (they haven't), but Pointer is currently on leave and can do whatever he likes on his holiday. So, he decides to come down under the name of Brown, posing as a man in the book business so his connection to Thornton won't be questioned. He immediately finds signs that indicate murder. Now all he has to do is figure out who did it and why? Was di Monti jealous of Rose's sittings for a local artist? Was Sibella so jealous of Rose that she'd do away with her? And why was Mrs. Lane behaving so oddly the night of murder--cloaking herself in veils and driving off late into the night? And who was the man who slept in an empty room and left traces in the summer house--and where did he go? Then someone searches Rose's room as well as her father's London apartment. All correspondence from the professor goes missing. Was Rose killed for possession of the professor's enclosure? And what connection is there fascists and the Russians?
Pointer takes off for Italy in a search for the Professor...and hopefully some answers. But the trail leads him into fascist territory and straight to a couple more bodies. And what starts out as a simple whodunit rapidly takes a leap into political intrigue and the spy/thriller adventure story. Our Scotland Yard detective is apparently a James Bond in disguise (who is adept at actually disguise, by the way) with a Q of his own in the background to supply him with all sorts of nifty gadgets to use when in tight spots:
Leisurely he extracted his cigar case. A thick podgy case, looking none too well made. He touched a spot with his thumb and lifted out a shallow tray...Inside was a flat glass bottle, a file not much longer than a nail-file, but of the stoutest steel, a skeleton key, and a few other interesting and equally useful oddments.
Chief Inspector Pointer has everything he needs for a quick jail-break from the evil fascist's dungeon of doom. The only question is...Is the evil fascist responsible for the deaths in the story?
Despite the fact that this plot takes a sharp turn from traditional mystery to spy/thriller with a detective who behaves more like a secret agent or a Sexton Blake hero and I find it rather unbelievable that Pointer has an endless supply of cash to hire as many private detectives as needed to watch all the suspects and to take a tour of Europe and pay off all sorts of people to tell him what he needs to know....despite all that, I found this to be a quite enjoyable read. It's my first mystery by Fielding and I look forward to reading the other title I have waiting on the TBR shelves here on the Block. ★★★ and 1/2 (rounded up here)
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Enter Chief Inspector Pointer. The Yard can't come unless the locals request it (they haven't), but Pointer is currently on leave and can do whatever he likes on his holiday. So, he decides to come down under the name of Brown, posing as a man in the book business so his connection to Thornton won't be questioned. He immediately finds signs that indicate murder. Now all he has to do is figure out who did it and why? Was di Monti jealous of Rose's sittings for a local artist? Was Sibella so jealous of Rose that she'd do away with her? And why was Mrs. Lane behaving so oddly the night of murder--cloaking herself in veils and driving off late into the night? And who was the man who slept in an empty room and left traces in the summer house--and where did he go? Then someone searches Rose's room as well as her father's London apartment. All correspondence from the professor goes missing. Was Rose killed for possession of the professor's enclosure? And what connection is there fascists and the Russians?
Pointer takes off for Italy in a search for the Professor...and hopefully some answers. But the trail leads him into fascist territory and straight to a couple more bodies. And what starts out as a simple whodunit rapidly takes a leap into political intrigue and the spy/thriller adventure story. Our Scotland Yard detective is apparently a James Bond in disguise (who is adept at actually disguise, by the way) with a Q of his own in the background to supply him with all sorts of nifty gadgets to use when in tight spots:
Leisurely he extracted his cigar case. A thick podgy case, looking none too well made. He touched a spot with his thumb and lifted out a shallow tray...Inside was a flat glass bottle, a file not much longer than a nail-file, but of the stoutest steel, a skeleton key, and a few other interesting and equally useful oddments.
Chief Inspector Pointer has everything he needs for a quick jail-break from the evil fascist's dungeon of doom. The only question is...Is the evil fascist responsible for the deaths in the story?
Despite the fact that this plot takes a sharp turn from traditional mystery to spy/thriller with a detective who behaves more like a secret agent or a Sexton Blake hero and I find it rather unbelievable that Pointer has an endless supply of cash to hire as many private detectives as needed to watch all the suspects and to take a tour of Europe and pay off all sorts of people to tell him what he needs to know....despite all that, I found this to be a quite enjoyable read. It's my first mystery by Fielding and I look forward to reading the other title I have waiting on the TBR shelves here on the Block. ★★★ and 1/2 (rounded up here)
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
August 30, 2018
Although I quite enjoyed this book I found it not very credible. Pointer is really too good to be true and in this one is a bit like a cross between Inspector Morse and James Bond. I agree with Gillian, the previous reviewer, that detective mysteries and espionage thrillers do not very often go well together. Also, the author does not play fair with the reader in that some of Pointers' knowledge is not shared until the denouement at the end thus making it difficult to figure out. The plot is extremely convoluted and there is are a couple of rather unbelievable coincidences. This is my second Fielding book and I will try some more.
August 8, 2021
Excellent
My second A Fielding mystery with Chief Inspector Pointer of New Scotland Yard. In this case the suspicious death of Rose Charteris prompts a friend and neighbour to call in Scotland Yard after the local police had said that the death was suicide. Pointer has to work alone during the last of his holiday before the case is made official. An excellent novel where the detective follows the mystery to the continent to gather the evidence.
My second A Fielding mystery with Chief Inspector Pointer of New Scotland Yard. In this case the suspicious death of Rose Charteris prompts a friend and neighbour to call in Scotland Yard after the local police had said that the death was suicide. Pointer has to work alone during the last of his holiday before the case is made official. An excellent novel where the detective follows the mystery to the continent to gather the evidence.
April 25, 2022
Originally published in 1925.
A Scotland Yard detective who does not let regulations get in his way finds the culprit while dealing with a missing professor, Communists, Fascists, the Foreign Office, a broken engagement, a secret marriage, mountain climbing, assassins, a bloody dress, trains, boats, mysterious hospitals, a destroyed portrait, and too many tire tracks.
CLASSIC Golden Age.
The author shunned publicity, and little is known except that she was a woman named Dorothy Feilding.
A Scotland Yard detective who does not let regulations get in his way finds the culprit while dealing with a missing professor, Communists, Fascists, the Foreign Office, a broken engagement, a secret marriage, mountain climbing, assassins, a bloody dress, trains, boats, mysterious hospitals, a destroyed portrait, and too many tire tracks.
CLASSIC Golden Age.
The author shunned publicity, and little is known except that she was a woman named Dorothy Feilding.
August 15, 2022
Really Undecipherable
Written well. Plenty of possibilities for the guilty party. Inspector Pointer is pretty amazing. Investigation, travel, exciting action, great reveal
Written well. Plenty of possibilities for the guilty party. Inspector Pointer is pretty amazing. Investigation, travel, exciting action, great reveal
June 26, 2015
The one field in which vintage crime novels do not age well, at least for me, is when they deal with spy/political intrigues. It just seems so over the top! Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham are none of them immune from this, though only Christie does come close to pulling it off occasionally. I wish I could say that Fielding reverses this trend, but alas! It is really, really hard to imagine steady Chief Inspector Pointer taking in stride all those attempts on his life.
Up until the point that the story gets taken over by assassination attempts, however, it is beautifully and meticulously plotted. As the foreword says, Fielding's hallmark is creating not one mystery, but two -- and in this story, there were three, all dove-tailing perfectly at the end. I enjoyed it thoroughly and if things got a bit ridiculous, they remained entirely enjoyable. 3.5 rounded down, because unless you are already a fan of vintage crime, I wouldn't recommend this.
Up until the point that the story gets taken over by assassination attempts, however, it is beautifully and meticulously plotted. As the foreword says, Fielding's hallmark is creating not one mystery, but two -- and in this story, there were three, all dove-tailing perfectly at the end. I enjoyed it thoroughly and if things got a bit ridiculous, they remained entirely enjoyable. 3.5 rounded down, because unless you are already a fan of vintage crime, I wouldn't recommend this.
April 24, 2021
Professor Charteris and his daughter Rose and her fiance Count Monti return to Britain from Fascist Italy. During a weekend at Still Water House in Medchester Common Rose is brutally murdered the clues are a missing necklace and mysterious letter she had received earlier that day. Detective Chief Inspector Pointer is on the case with all the evidence appearing to lead back to Italy. Pointer brings in a civilian, Jim O'Connor to act as muscle where Fascism and Bolshevism meet head. I found the Charteris Mystery is an over complicated book not helped by the fact only character surnames are used making them impersonal. There is a very good story here and with a nod to the rise of Mussolini very commendable but I the reader is missing a few vital pieces to aid a solution.
July 2, 2014
Pointer of the Yard is called in when beautiful Rose Charteris is found dead. Her uncle's friend Thornton, who rents a nearby cottage, isn't sure that it's the accident it seems to be. Rose wanted to break her engagement to a volatile Italian count, her former lover is on the scene, she's quarreled with her cousin...But Pointer is sure that a motive beyond jealousy must be at the root of the crime. It's most peculiar that Rose's father, a noted professor, has not returned from Italy in response to his daughter's death. Pointer must go to Italy to track him down, with surprising results. Unfortunately, some of the political attitudes of the 1920's spoiled my enjoyment of this classic.
February 23, 2015
The plot was too convoluted.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews