Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our Dec/Jan Christmas buddy read of The Night of Fear by Moray Dalton Katherine Dalton Renoir (1881-1963) ('Moray Dalton') was born in Hammersmith, London in 1881, the only child of a Canadian father and English mother. The Night of Fear was the second in the Hugh Collier series, published in 1931.

A Christmas gathering of young and old in a great country house in England—a masquerade—and the lights are turned off for a game of hide and seek. Silence—then a man’s cry for “Lights!” The lights come on, revealing Hugh Darrow, blind since the War, standing in the main hall, fresh blood dripping from his hands and covering his white Pierrot costume. He tells the story of having discovered a dead man, stabbed through the heart, lying in a curtained window embrasure next to the one in which he was hiding. The murdered man proves to be Stallard, one of the visitors, and a writer of mystery tales. There follows a thrilling tale in which the life of an innocent man hangs in the balance. A grand and baffling tale for the mystery lover.

For all lovers of the Golden Age, Christmas means murder! Come and join us at the best kind of Christmas House Party. All are welcome. Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.