The Cluny Problem: A Murder Mystery

Chief Inspector Pointer #5

by Dorothy Fielding

An innocent masked-ball party in the touristy town of Cluny turns into a puzzling scene of crime with two of the guests being found dead in a locked room! Excerpt: "Anthony!" Vivian Young made a laughing surprised clutch at a tall figure stalking ahead of her down the station platform. The man turned sharply. At the sight of his fiancée he smiled pleasantly, though a sharp observer would have said that there was something in his eyes that suggested a man about to make the best of a position not entirely to his liking. "My dear girl!" he ejaculated warmly, "what brings you to Macon? Did you get into the wrong train, or out of the right one, or what?" "I'm on my way to Cluny."

Genres: Mystery

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

Reviews

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow, disjointed and over complicated. I nearly gave up on this one. Disappointing.

[Tony Harker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tedious, overly long and overly complicated. I was thinking less of “whodunnit” and more of “who cares whodunnit?” I finally gave up and skimmed the last chapter, relieved I had finally finished it. Not one to recommend.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over long and over complicated murder mystery. Set in France, the author throws in the kitchen sink with everything from the Klu Klux Clan and the US Rangers. I'm not really sure how a small village in France could cope with plot given. Not my cup of tea really.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really intriguing Golden Age find! Plucky American reporter Vivian Young is engaged to wealthy, older Englishman Sir Anthony, but visiting historic Cluny, France, where she thinks he has a past love interest, convinces her that she can't marry him. She certainly can't when Sir Anthony is found dead after a duel with the supposed love interest's husband, who's also dead. A visiting Scotland Yard inspector helps the French police, and there's also a stodgy Scottish detective investigating a robbery. Lots of suspects, presumed alliances, and a satisfying enough conclusion--but then the truth comes out when the inspector reports back to his chief at Scotland Yard, providing a totally unexpected, delightful conclusion.

[Gillian Kevern · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up.

I liked this mystery a lot. Characters with strong personalities with more going on than meets the eye, a strong plot and an interesting puzzle. I found this a very satisfying read.

It's rounded up because there were some spelling errors and weird formatting things that make me think this book was not thoroughly proofed. Other than that, a great example of golden-era detective fiction.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just cannot get through the awful "Scottish" character