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The Chestermarke Instinct
When the manager of a small bank in the English village of Scarnham failed to appear to open the bank on a Monday morning, it was assumed to be a matter of a missed train. But when the bank’s owners reported missing securities and Lady Ellersdeane’s jewels - worth a hundred thousand pounds - can’t be found, things take a more serious turn. Has the manager, formerly a pillar of honesty, absconded with the missing items, or has something more sinister occurred? When a body is found at the bottom of an abandoned lead mine, the latter seems more likely. Wallington Neale, the bank’s assistant manager, must discover whether it is a case of embezzlement or if the events the result of... The Chestermarke Instinct!
264 pages, Nook
First published January 1, 1918
28 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
J.S. Fletcher
540 books56 followersJoseph 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 .
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 .
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 6, 2015
Another classic crime whodunit (and what on earth is going on?) tale from JS Fletcher. Written in the early 1900s by West Yorkshire man JS Fletcher, I think this tale is set somewhere in W. Yorkshire – although I can’t be sure. It is set in a little rural village called Scarnham, which has a moor out the back, and there’s some Yorkshire speech by some of the working class characters – it’s not ‘the other’ but rather ‘t’other’. I first thought it was set right on the south coast because people referred to coming down to Scarnham from London – as if to suggest the village is south of London. But then when the detective gets the train back to London, the first stop is Nottingham. So they definitely can’t be in the very south of England, or else that is one confused train.
Compared to a couple of other JS Fletcher’s I have read, a lot of the action in this one is focused in Scarnham itself, rather than dashing about all over the country in chase of the bad guys. So there is much trotting back and forth across the market square to question various involved parties. It does keep the pace up though, and there are more revelations and witness statements than you can shake a stick at. And there’s no dull waiting for collaborating evidence. They jump to conclusions based on very little, which thankfully turn out to be right. If you’re wanting a good account of police procedure, this probably isn’t for you. But it has such charm from a bygone time and style of mystery writing, that it’s the kind of cosy story that you can just curl up with and forget about the real horrible nature of modern life for an hour or two.
As with a lot of these books women play a minor role. There’s a couple of bit characters – the inn keeper’s wife and the housekeeper, who flit in and out to provide evidence, but the only real female character of any impact is Betty Forsdyke, the niece, who comes “down” from London to visit her uncle. She is keen to solve the mystery, and is quite an active, dynamic person, but even she is restricted by the times, and when there’s a potentially unpleasant scene (eg. A dead body) she’s asked by the men if she could just remain in the background so that she doesn’t see anything upsetting. But she gets her womanly wish at the very last sentence or so as it’s strongly hinted at that she is now engaged (no sarcasm what so ever on my part! Oh yes, this is a child of its time and women apparently had limited roles and aspirations).
So, the mystery? Mr Horbury is a bank manager, who simply disappears in a puff of smoke on Saturday evening. No one realises until Monday morning when Neale (Mr Horbury’s ward and employee) and the bank clerks turn up for work and the bank is all locked up. The partners of the bank, the Chestermarkes – Gabriel the uncle and Joseph the nephew, arrive and unlock the premises. Then added to the worry of Mr Horbury’s disappearance, there are the missing securities from the bank safe, and Lord whatever-his-name-was’s wife’s jewels, which had been left with Mr Horbury for safe keeping a few weeks ago. No one seems to know anything about them. What can be going on? Then a body is found in the collapsing mine vents on the common land near the town, and things just continue to grow more complicated. The Chestermarkes are a pair of snooty, sneering and generally unpleasant men (with rather unfitting biblical names), but are they just a pair of unpleasant people or are they also up to something?!?! Gabriel’s always off to London and Joseph has a strange building in his back garden that no one is allowed into….
It is all jolly, wholesome fun of a bygone time.
Compared to a couple of other JS Fletcher’s I have read, a lot of the action in this one is focused in Scarnham itself, rather than dashing about all over the country in chase of the bad guys. So there is much trotting back and forth across the market square to question various involved parties. It does keep the pace up though, and there are more revelations and witness statements than you can shake a stick at. And there’s no dull waiting for collaborating evidence. They jump to conclusions based on very little, which thankfully turn out to be right. If you’re wanting a good account of police procedure, this probably isn’t for you. But it has such charm from a bygone time and style of mystery writing, that it’s the kind of cosy story that you can just curl up with and forget about the real horrible nature of modern life for an hour or two.
As with a lot of these books women play a minor role. There’s a couple of bit characters – the inn keeper’s wife and the housekeeper, who flit in and out to provide evidence, but the only real female character of any impact is Betty Forsdyke, the niece, who comes “down” from London to visit her uncle. She is keen to solve the mystery, and is quite an active, dynamic person, but even she is restricted by the times, and when there’s a potentially unpleasant scene (eg. A dead body) she’s asked by the men if she could just remain in the background so that she doesn’t see anything upsetting. But she gets her womanly wish at the very last sentence or so as it’s strongly hinted at that she is now engaged (no sarcasm what so ever on my part! Oh yes, this is a child of its time and women apparently had limited roles and aspirations).
So, the mystery? Mr Horbury is a bank manager, who simply disappears in a puff of smoke on Saturday evening. No one realises until Monday morning when Neale (Mr Horbury’s ward and employee) and the bank clerks turn up for work and the bank is all locked up. The partners of the bank, the Chestermarkes – Gabriel the uncle and Joseph the nephew, arrive and unlock the premises. Then added to the worry of Mr Horbury’s disappearance, there are the missing securities from the bank safe, and Lord whatever-his-name-was’s wife’s jewels, which had been left with Mr Horbury for safe keeping a few weeks ago. No one seems to know anything about them. What can be going on? Then a body is found in the collapsing mine vents on the common land near the town, and things just continue to grow more complicated. The Chestermarkes are a pair of snooty, sneering and generally unpleasant men (with rather unfitting biblical names), but are they just a pair of unpleasant people or are they also up to something?!?! Gabriel’s always off to London and Joseph has a strange building in his back garden that no one is allowed into….
It is all jolly, wholesome fun of a bygone time.
June 24, 2016
First published in 1918, this is the fourth murder mystery by J. S. Fletcher that I have read. A young assistant bank manager hates his boring job at a little town in rural England, and despises the unlikable bank owners. But then things get interesting: the bank manager, formerly considered totally honest, disappears, along with many of the bank securities, mortgages, gold, and the wildly valuable jewels belonging to the Duchess. The manager's wealthy niece arrives, an assertive and dynamic young woman, and gets the police and detectives moving on the case. With the help of a wandering tinner, a dead body is found in a deep, abandoned mine on the moors. He is identified, and seems somehow to be connected with the bank manager's disappearance. There are lots of new questions and twists that keep turning up, all the way until the explosive ending. An enjoyable read. I listened to this book as a free audio download from LibriVox.org.
August 28, 2020
One hundred years old
What a delight to read a book with no sex, no foul language, and correct grammar - not to mention a cracking good story. For a book written a hundred years ago, it really shows how standards have deteriorated in modern writing. I really enjoyed this old fashioned, entertaining story.
What a delight to read a book with no sex, no foul language, and correct grammar - not to mention a cracking good story. For a book written a hundred years ago, it really shows how standards have deteriorated in modern writing. I really enjoyed this old fashioned, entertaining story.
September 9, 2021
It may be that five J.S. Fletchers in a row has jaded my critical faculties, but I found this 1918 offering distinctly odd.
For starters, it is not nearly as convoluted as usual, nor is there a lot of tootling around the country, with the action here mainly taking place in a small English country town and its immediate environs, with the odd foray up to London.
There is a bit more real and professional detection, from the local Superintendent Polke and DS Starmidge of Scotland Yard, than I have found before. However their endeavours are trumped by the explosive intervention of the amateur investigator, handsome young Wallington Neale.
The villains will be obvious to all, but the whys and wherefores of the disappearance of bank manager John Horbury along with sundry securities and jewels, take a long time in the telling, before an even-more-abrupt-than-usual ending,in which the hunky hero and the rich heroine gain each other.
Somewhat tame, although one villain dutifully sneers a lot, while the other is merely cold and unfeeling.
3.25 stars.
For starters, it is not nearly as convoluted as usual, nor is there a lot of tootling around the country, with the action here mainly taking place in a small English country town and its immediate environs, with the odd foray up to London.
There is a bit more real and professional detection, from the local Superintendent Polke and DS Starmidge of Scotland Yard, than I have found before. However their endeavours are trumped by the explosive intervention of the amateur investigator, handsome young Wallington Neale.
The villains will be obvious to all, but the whys and wherefores of the disappearance of bank manager John Horbury along with sundry securities and jewels, take a long time in the telling, before an even-more-abrupt-than-usual ending,in which the hunky hero and the rich heroine gain each other.
Somewhat tame, although one villain dutifully sneers a lot, while the other is merely cold and unfeeling.
3.25 stars.
December 27, 2018
Good classic mystery. A missing bank manager is thought to just be late coming back on the train, but he never shows up. His niece arrives & insists on getting the best detective to come. The police, the niece, a bank assistant, the detective and an earl all join in to figure out what happened to the man as well as some missing securities & jewelry. Add the complication of a dead body of another man & you have a good mystery. You kind of get suspicious of who might have been involved early in the story, but follow it through to the solution, there are some surprises.
December 26, 2022
It is 1912 and Wallington Neale, a young, 23, assistant bank manager hates his boring job at the small town of Scarnham in rural England and also despises the unlikable bank owners. The bank manager fails to appear to open the bank on a Monday morning and no one knows where he is. The manager was a pillar in the town and considered totally honest so his disappearance is a major surprise and becomes more so when it is discovered that also missing are highly valuable bank securities and very valuable jewels.
April 18, 2018
Another preWW2 mystery. A bank manager in a small English town goes missing, as do jewels and securities.
Good story with action and pacing plus an interesting puzzle. My main criticism is the characterization: I didn't end up feeling particularly attached to any character or convinced of the detective's abilities. Also (minor issue), the author mentions early in the novel that the old town is full of hidden passages--disappointing that nothing comes if this.
Good story with action and pacing plus an interesting puzzle. My main criticism is the characterization: I didn't end up feeling particularly attached to any character or convinced of the detective's abilities. Also (minor issue), the author mentions early in the novel that the old town is full of hidden passages--disappointing that nothing comes if this.
February 25, 2019
1912 Scarnham and the manager of the Chestermarke Bank has gone missing. The owners of the bank find that securities and jewellery seem to have gone missing as well. The local police Superintendent Polke decides to bring in Scotland Yard as the case gets more complicated. So Detective Sergeant Starmidge of C.I.D. is sent to investigate.
An interesting mystery
An interesting mystery
December 31, 2023
I Never Get Tired Of J S Fletcher’s Books
This book flowed very quickly and smoothly. Quite frankly you know who you hope is the guilty one very quickly. By approximately 60% into the story you have a fairly good idea what’s happening. The question is are you correct? Read it and find out. I highly recommend it.
This book flowed very quickly and smoothly. Quite frankly you know who you hope is the guilty one very quickly. By approximately 60% into the story you have a fairly good idea what’s happening. The question is are you correct? Read it and find out. I highly recommend it.
June 28, 2018
This one was quite dark for Fletcher - money lenders, kidnap, torture - as well as the usual array of characters with the 'whip hand'. It was a fun page turner of a murder mystery all the same though the ending, as usual, felt a little rushed.
April 5, 2024
This is an interesting British mystery novel, with lots of twists and turns. J.S. Fletcher, though, continues to kill people in the English moors but otherwise the tale is often unpredictable. I recommend this as a good solid detective thriller worth reading.
January 31, 2025
I was mentally giving this tale of the mysterious disappearance of a rural Bank manager a 4, but the ending was a major letdown, with several points (the housekeeper? The uncle's knowledge? The theater program?) completely ignored. Also, the title made me crazy: there IS no Chestermarke instinct!!
March 21, 2021
Some important details never get cleared up but it's an interesting and twisty tale.
June 26, 2024
A really good Golden Age mystery.
February 13, 2020
This is my first foray into the works of John Smith Fletcher, an apparently very prolific writer during the early 20th century. This book is a rolling, country jaunt with many twists and turns, two very prominent and well-characterized suspects, an intelligent young man, a vivacious "modern" young lady, and quite inefficient detectives and policemen. It is a fun read, although I noticed many logical incongruities, especially towards the end. The pace is rather slow, which is normally not an issue for me in a book. However, in this case, each piece of evidence is analyzed by the country police and detective, or discovered by the young man and lady and consequently brought to the attention of the police to analyze and theorize about, or some witness is interviewed at length resulting in very little information... you get the idea. I was rather disappointed by the fact that the case is resolved through sheer luck; a question of being in the right place at the right time, without aid or recourse to any powers of deduction. But perhaps I am too used to Sherlockian tropes.
December 22, 2016
What is the Chestermarke instinct? Keep your eye on the main chance? Don't let anything or anyone get in your way? They're sleek and sneaky scoundrels to be sure. For the most part this is a decent read, even if it just stops dead, leaving a fair number of unresolved issues hanging after the big explosive moment. It's startlingly abrupt, even for Fletcher.
March 5, 2012
I enjoy mysteries and thought this was particularly good.
July 11, 2013
I loved the book from beginning to end. I'll definitely be reading more free books by this author.
December 30, 2013
Love this audiobook. It's free in eBook and audio form at:
Librivox.org and Gutenberg.org
Librivox.org and Gutenberg.org
January 15, 2014
Another great who-done-it by Fletcher
March 16, 2014
Have to come back to this one some other time.
September 21, 2015
This was one of the better Fletchers. None of them, including this one, are what anyone would consider great kiterature, but they are oh so good for a lazy afternoon.
September 24, 2013
Well crafted mystery novel in the classic style, featuring a disappearing bank manager.
July 20, 2015
enjoyed this early police procedural...great free reading of another old-fashioned mystery
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews