In the Mayor's Parlour

by J.S. Fletcher

CONTENTS:

I The Mayor's Parlour
II The Cambric Handkerchief
III The Tannery House
IV Bull's Snug
V Sleeping Fires
VI The Ancient Office of Coroner
VII The Voluntary Witness
VIII Mrs. Saumarez
IX The Right to Intervene
X The Cat in the Bag
XI The Nineteen Minutes' Interval
XII Circumstantial Evidence
XIII A Woman Intervenes
XIV Whose Voices?
XV The Special Edition
XVI The Castle Wall
XVII Impregnable
XVIII Loose Strands
XIX Black Secrets and Red Tape
XX The Fell Hand
XXI Corruption
XXII The Parlour-maid
XXIII The Connecting Wall
XXIV Behind the Panel
XXV The Empty Room

a selection from: CHAPTER I - THE MAYOR'S PARLOUR

Hathelsborough market-place lies in the middle of the town?a long, somewhat narrow parallelogram, enclosed on its longer side by old gabled houses; shut in on its western end by the massive bulk of the great parish church of St. Hathelswide, Virgin and Martyr, and at its eastern by the ancient walls and high roofs of its medi?val Moot Hall. The inner surface of this space is paved with cobble-stones, worn smooth by centuries of usage: it is only of late years that the conservative spirit of the old borough has so far accommodated itself to modern requirements as to provide foot-paths in front of the shops and houses. But there that same spirit has stopped; the utilitarian of to-day would sweep away, as being serious hindrances to wheeled traffic, the two picturesque fifteenth-century erections which stand in this market-place; these, High Cross and Low Cross, one at the east end, in front of the Moot Hall, the other at the west, facing the chancel of the church, remain, to the delight of the arch?ologist, as instances of the fashion in which our forefathers [Pg 2]built gathering places in the very midst of narrow thoroughfares.

Under the graceful cupola and the flying buttresses of High Cross the countryfolk still expose for sale on market-days their butter and their eggs; around the base of the slender shaft called Low Cross they still offer their poultry and rabbits; on other than market-days High Cross and Low Cross alike make central, open-air clubs, for the patriarchs of the place, who there assemble in the lazy afternoons and still lazier eventides, to gossip over the latest items of local news; conscious that as they are doing so their ancestors have done for many a generation, and that old as they may be themselves, in their septuagenarian or octogenarian states, they are as infants in comparison with the age of the stones and bricks and timbers about them, grey and fragrant with the antiquity of at least three hundred years.

Of all this mass of venerable material, still sound and uncrumbled, the great tall-towered church at one end of the market-place, and the square, heavily fashioned Moot Hall at the other, go farthest back, through association, into the mists of the Middle Ages. The church dates from the thirteenth century and, though it has been skilfully restored on more than one occasion, there is nothing in its cathedral-like proportions that suggests modernity; the Moot Hall, erected a hundred years later, remains precisely as when it was first fashioned, and though it, too, has passed under the hand of the restorer its renovation has only taken the shape of strengthening an already formidably strong building.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

Joseph Smith Fletcher was an English journalist, writer, and fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He studied law before turning to journalism.

His literary career spanned approximately 200 books on a wide variety of subjects including fiction, non-fiction, histories, historical fiction, and mysteries. He was known as one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Golden Age .

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mayor (who recently won by one vote) is killed in a locked room. His cousin vows to figure out the mystery of who killed him. There are entanglements involving city officials and his proposed reforms plus jealousy related to relationships. Lots of twists with a surprise murderer. The only thing I didn't like was the fate of that murderer which follows what we would call old fashioned thinking now...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a fairly short book, it had all the required elements that I like and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fletcher, to me anyway, can be relied on to give the reader a good character sketch of the participants. This is a story of graft and corruption set in one of Fletchers favoured Northern towns. The mayor who is on a clean-up campaign is found dead in his parlour and our hero, his younger cousin, is determined to find out who killed him. A love interest and plenty of red herrings. Good.

[Cindy B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suspenseful and interest-keeping, well narrated by Librivox. Recommended.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mayor of Hathelsborough is determined to remove the town's corruption but it is not long before he is found dead, in a seemingly locked room scenario. The story dragged in a couple of places where romance seemed to take over the story but an enjoyable tale when you skip those parts.

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our protagonist is another journalist. [as was the author] Brent is also the cousin of the victim, and the inheritor of the dead Mayor’s estate. Even though Wallingford is a new man, only lived in Hathelsborough for twelve years, he won the Mayor role by one vote and has been pushing a reform agenda; he was particularly against many of the older elements. There are a lot of people who wanted him dead but which one met him in the locked room and stabbed him to the heart?
Brent is determined to be involved but kind of runs along next to the police investigation. There are secret passages, a blood stained handkerchief, a rapier hidden behind the bookcase, and threatening letters… oh my. The rotten borough stinks.
Dr Wellesley and Mayor Wallingford competed for a local widow’s affection Mrs Saumarez. For some reason known only to Brent he gives her back a locked case full of letters from her, or so she told him. [silly man]
Brent runs afoul of Alderman Crood and his Trustees.

That is, the fact that the financial affairs of this town are entirely controlled by what is virtually a self-constituted body, called the Town Trustees. They are three in number. If one dies, the surviving two select his successor—needless to say, they take good care that they choose a man who is in thorough sympathy with their own ideas. Now the late Mayor was convinced that this system led to nothing but—well, to put it mildly, to nothing but highly undesirable results, …’(p. 39).

And he complicates matters by getting romantically involved with Crood’s niece Queenie. Although she serves as an excellent source of information for him.
Again, the age of the work means we are missing the dénouement – it still ends too abruptly for me.
3 stars

[Mark Rabideau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mystery is excellent. The plot and story line are twisted and full of surprises. The end is especially 'surprising'. This may be the best J. S. Fletcher novel I have read to date. His novels never disappoint and are regularly excellent.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a number of reasons this is an odd and frustrating mystery. Although it starts quite promisingly with an “impossible“ murder, that of John Wallingford, Mayor of Haselborough, it turns out to be more a condemnation of civic corruption and the difficulties involved in rooting it out.

It reads as if it had been written as a serial, with each dramatic new revelation coming during a succession of adjourned inquests.The local police lurch from theory to theory until the solution is revealed at a magistrate’s hearing.

There are plenty of “ characters “ and the town itself is vividly described, but the detective work is minimal and the motive for the crime is weak.What is of note is the role of the local newspaper and the reminder that investigative journalism was alive and well in the early 20th century.

Another easy read, with a slight puzzle element and plenty of small town intrigues.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aside from the unfortunate breakdown about mid way where romance hijacks the plot and holds it hostage, this is a good enough read. For reasons totally obscure, the lead male falls for some drab - whom Fletcher has to keep telling us is interesting etc, because she isn't. The plot comes about after a bit of rough sailing, and while a bit overly complicated, enjoyable enough. If you ignore the drab.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

J S Fletcher can always be depended on to deliver an exciting mystery story, with lots of twists, a bit of sweet romance, and a variety of well described characters. “In the Mayor’s Parlor” is no exception. The old town is very proud of its centuries old traditions, and a new mayor is about to get done-in by looking into what goes on behind the scenes in the Old Boys Club. I just knew I had it figured out early on, but not this time. The LibriVox version is capably read by Nicholas Clifford.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a number of these Fletcher mysteries from another era, so obviously I find them entertaining on a couple levels: first, they are free being in public domain; Fletcher used amusing descriptions of places and people; the dated dialogue and language usage rather tickles me if I am in the mood for it.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful entertaining listening 🔰😀

Another very will written British romantic thriller murder mystery by J. S. Fletcher about murder in a small British hamlet where corruption in the governing body is under investigation. I would highly recommend this novel to readers of murder mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or 🎶 listening to books 📚 2021🏰 🏡👔👗

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic old-fashioned murder mystery

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite as good as Fletcher's other books but still a nice who-done-it

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything seems to hinge on secret passages! Nicholas Clifford does a truly wonderful job reading this old J.S. Fletcher mystery for Librivox.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reading my way through the free ebook versions of Fletcher's mysteries, and thoroughly enjoying myself. However, this one went downhill from a promising beginning. A young journalist goes to visit his cousin, the mayor of a northern town, only to find him murdered in the old Town chamber. He immediately decides it's his duty, as next of kin, to see that justice is served. He learns a good deal about the mayor's personal and political life -- then he gets involved in politics, the police investigation continues but the reader is never told what's happening until the penultimate scene, which presents the startling discoveries, with one dramatic "twist" (or not, depending on how your suspicions fell).

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new mayor the northern England small town of Hathelsborough is determined to remove the town's corruption, but four months into his term he is found murdered in the mayor's parlour and his younger journalist cousin is determined to find out who killed him. The mayor was unpopular among those benefiting from the town's political and financial set up. A story of small town graft and corruption with the mayor's younger cousin determined to find out who killed him.

[Don Drewniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is the eleventh of seventeen in the mammoth J.S. Fletcher anthology that also includes twenty-eight short stories. As seems to be the case with Fletcher novels, his character development is excellent, the plot solid and, as always, entertaining.

[Anish Bhowmik · Rating 2 out of 5]

5.5/10

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated but enjoyable "locked room" mystery with lots of suspects, political intrigue and a smattering of romance.

[Ken Wahe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read....I recommend it most heartily....it goes to show that there is more than one mystery writer lost in recent past....well not so recent 125 years isn't recent.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overwritten, uninteresting and frankly boring.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secret doors and murder of progressive mayor tilted against corrupt town officials. Mayor’s cousin comes to town and vows to find the killer.