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Carolus Deene #14
Death at Hallows End
In this "rousing mystery" (Booklist), Gentleman Detective Carolus Deene, the schoolmaster created by Bruce and featured in so many of his other books, has his work cut out for him . A respectable solicitor has vanished into thin air in the remote village of Hallows End. Deene senses foul play, and when he goes on the hunt for the missing lawyer, the wealthy client himself suffers a heart attack in what proves to be too much of a coincidence for Deene. Deene ferrets out the culprits in his own inimitable style. Julian Symons of the Sunday Times has said of this series, "Mr. Leo Bruce is one of the few criminal practitioners who keep the tattered old flag of pure detection flying high."
- GenresMystery
230 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1965
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25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 19, 2023
This is the fourteenth entry in the Carolus Deene series, first published in 1965.As the schoolmaster-detective says at the start of his exposition in the last chapter:-
“An interesting case because the puzzle did not primarily lie in detecting a murderer but rather in establishing whether there had been a murder. In other words, this was not so much a who-done-it as a who-done-what.”
This is an accurate description, although I would dispute the use of the adjective “interesting”. Often in these novels the reader is given the impression that that Deene is unutterably bored and really is not very gripped by the mystery he is supposed to be investigating.I certainly felt much the same in this case.
There is also a lot of laziness in the writing. The reader is told :-
“No investigation that he had previously undertaken had brought him such a physical reaction as this. He had expected to feel that he was near danger—instead of that there was this cesspool sense of evil.”
However no attempt is made to convey this palpable evil to the reader and most of the characters are one-dimensional. At another point a character is knocked out when he nearly comes upon vital evidence. This is reported to Deene in a written statement which totally deprives the incident of any drama.
The entire book has a curious flatness and there is little of the humour with which Bruce usually enlivens matters.
For completists.
3.25 stars.
“An interesting case because the puzzle did not primarily lie in detecting a murderer but rather in establishing whether there had been a murder. In other words, this was not so much a who-done-it as a who-done-what.”
This is an accurate description, although I would dispute the use of the adjective “interesting”. Often in these novels the reader is given the impression that that Deene is unutterably bored and really is not very gripped by the mystery he is supposed to be investigating.I certainly felt much the same in this case.
There is also a lot of laziness in the writing. The reader is told :-
“No investigation that he had previously undertaken had brought him such a physical reaction as this. He had expected to feel that he was near danger—instead of that there was this cesspool sense of evil.”
However no attempt is made to convey this palpable evil to the reader and most of the characters are one-dimensional. At another point a character is knocked out when he nearly comes upon vital evidence. This is reported to Deene in a written statement which totally deprives the incident of any drama.
The entire book has a curious flatness and there is little of the humour with which Bruce usually enlivens matters.
For completists.
3.25 stars.
February 22, 2019
"It was not so much a question of 'who-done-it' as of 'who-done-what.' Respectable solicitors do not disappear every day, but Duncan Humby had vanished into thin air while on his way to prepare a new will for James Grossiter -- a will in which the crotchety millionaire intended to dispossess all his relations and his manservant in favor of numerous charities.
"The death from a heart attack of Old Grossiter himself was too much of a coincidence for Carolus Deene, who was called upon to find the missing solicitor, and as he made his way to the remote village of Hallows End, where Humby's car had been seen and where Grossiter was staying, he had a strong feeling of sinister evil and danger ... a feeling that was soon to be translated into horrible fact."
~~front flap
This book seemed even more convoluted to me than the previous ones -- it seems as thought the author is grasping ever more frantically with each succeeding book to create a plot that the read will have trouble following, let alone solving. Once the end has been reached and the case solved, the reader sees that all the clues were there, leaving the feeling of not having been quite sharp enough to read this book and enjoy it for themselves.
"The death from a heart attack of Old Grossiter himself was too much of a coincidence for Carolus Deene, who was called upon to find the missing solicitor, and as he made his way to the remote village of Hallows End, where Humby's car had been seen and where Grossiter was staying, he had a strong feeling of sinister evil and danger ... a feeling that was soon to be translated into horrible fact."
~~front flap
This book seemed even more convoluted to me than the previous ones -- it seems as thought the author is grasping ever more frantically with each succeeding book to create a plot that the read will have trouble following, let alone solving. Once the end has been reached and the case solved, the reader sees that all the clues were there, leaving the feeling of not having been quite sharp enough to read this book and enjoy it for themselves.
June 2, 2017
Somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3 for me. Mysteries aren't a favorite of mine but I didn't hate this.
November 5, 2019
Schoolmaster Carolus Deene is called in when a local attorney disappears. Neither his wife nor his partner has any idea what happened to Duncan Humby. All his partner knew is that Humby was taking a new will to a wealthy eccentric Old Grossiter, who coincidentally died the same night. But Deene doesn't believe in coincidences, especially when he meets Grossiter's two nephews, who were entertaining the old man at their decrepit farmhouse. Bruce uses the ignorance of the lower classes for comic effect, and the suspects are a surly and unpleasant lot. Not one of his best efforts.
Want to read
December 16, 2019Synopsis: schoolmaster and gentleman detective Carolus Deene looks into the disappearance of a respectable solicitor in a remote village.
September 20, 2025
Clever plot
Eccentric and well drawn characters—
Entertaining read
Eccentric and well drawn characters—
Entertaining read
March 17, 2014
This British mystery from 1965 was written in the classic vein, but without the period detail that make the books of e.g. Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers so attractive. Carolus Deene, independently wealthy history teacher at a posh school, and amateur detective during school breaks, is asked to find out why respectable lawyer Duncan Humby disappeared while en route to a client who was about to make an unpopular will. It soon turns out that the millionnaire who was making the will disinheriting his kin, died an apparently natural death within hours of his lawyer's disappearance. The nephews in whose house the millionnaire was temporarily a guest are an unattractive lot, as is his manservant. There are also a couple of illegitimate relatives, who have their own interest in the old man's will. Most of the action takes place over sherry or tea in private houses, or over ale in country pubs. There are farmers, muddy fields, crusty old villagers, faithful retainers... all the stuff of classic British mysteries.
Still, most of it fell flat for me. Most of the people in the book are slightly to overtly disagreeable. Carolus Deene, I've noticed in other books, seems to live in a woman-free universe. The only exception is his housekeeper, Mrs. Stick, who brings some comic relief with her perpetual disapproval of Deene's sleuthing activities, and her mispronunciation of the classic French dishes she prepares for him. The book had little tension, and I found the ending disappointing. I prefer the guilty party to be the one person with the apparently unbreakable alibi, rather than the obvious suspect.
This book will appeal most to die-hard fans of the British mystery.
Still, most of it fell flat for me. Most of the people in the book are slightly to overtly disagreeable. Carolus Deene, I've noticed in other books, seems to live in a woman-free universe. The only exception is his housekeeper, Mrs. Stick, who brings some comic relief with her perpetual disapproval of Deene's sleuthing activities, and her mispronunciation of the classic French dishes she prepares for him. The book had little tension, and I found the ending disappointing. I prefer the guilty party to be the one person with the apparently unbreakable alibi, rather than the obvious suspect.
This book will appeal most to die-hard fans of the British mystery.
July 20, 2013
A very clever plot. Carolus, a private school teacher, follows his hobby of detection. A local lawyer, Humby, has disappeared on his way to see an elderly client, Grossiter, who wishes to sign a new will. Grossiter is staying with his nephews at Hallows End to see if he wants them to have his money, and has decided he does not. Thus, he called Humby and asked him to draft a will leaving most of his money to charity. The day Humby was to arrive at the nephews' farm, Grossiter dies and Humby disappears. Carolus interviews pub landlords and others and figures all out the last day before classes restart. The plot is very convoluted, and quite clever.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews