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Three Strangers: A Golden Age Detective Story
“If this is a fair specimen of the quiet of the English countryside, give me Poplar or Limehouse! There’s a murder in the shrubbery, and Lord knows what else!”
On the day of James Remshaw’s execution three strangers appear in the Sussex village of Malford Bishop and converge on Malford Manor, home of Theodore Hardwick and his daughter Elizabeth. One of the strangers, Poldron, insists on being allowed to rent the Manor and issues veiled threats when he is turned down. Another, Bovey, seems uncommonly interested in the ruined lodge and claims to be an old friend of the former gardner’s boy. The third, Moreton, appears to be shadowing the other two. Elizabeth trusts none of them, but when Moreton intervenes to save her life, the pair face a race against time to solve the mystery of Malford Manor before it claims the lives of those closest to her…
Originally published in 1937, this is a vintage murder mystery thriller from the golden age of crime fiction.
On the day of James Remshaw’s execution three strangers appear in the Sussex village of Malford Bishop and converge on Malford Manor, home of Theodore Hardwick and his daughter Elizabeth. One of the strangers, Poldron, insists on being allowed to rent the Manor and issues veiled threats when he is turned down. Another, Bovey, seems uncommonly interested in the ruined lodge and claims to be an old friend of the former gardner’s boy. The third, Moreton, appears to be shadowing the other two. Elizabeth trusts none of them, but when Moreton intervenes to save her life, the pair face a race against time to solve the mystery of Malford Manor before it claims the lives of those closest to her…
Originally published in 1937, this is a vintage murder mystery thriller from the golden age of crime fiction.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 29, 2022
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January 2, 2023
Had I been able to follow my usual practice of reading an author in order of publication, I might not have persevered with Max Dalman's works, which would have been a pity.
This first novel from 1937 has, yet again, a most intriguing opening, but the plot is preposterous and unbelievable.
The blundering ineptitude of the professional detectives, allied to the ludicrous, unthinking and repeated rushing into danger of the heroine, only serve to underline the incredibility of the underlying premise. There are so many night time chases and daytime shadowings that it is no wonder that I got lost as often as did the plot.
The whole thing was neither thrilling nor puzzling. Dalman did go on to write better novels, fortunately.
This first novel from 1937 has, yet again, a most intriguing opening, but the plot is preposterous and unbelievable.
The blundering ineptitude of the professional detectives, allied to the ludicrous, unthinking and repeated rushing into danger of the heroine, only serve to underline the incredibility of the underlying premise. There are so many night time chases and daytime shadowings that it is no wonder that I got lost as often as did the plot.
The whole thing was neither thrilling nor puzzling. Dalman did go on to write better novels, fortunately.
Displaying 1 of 1 review