Rating is purely on its merits as a mystery story - the character writing isn't deep or anything, there's no fascinating insight into human nature, it's not humorous etc. BUT as a mystery it's really solid - lots of clever misdirection, a long walk to the point when you get to see the big picture of what's going on but nothing at all held back (if you're clever you could work out things quite a bit before the denouement I think), well paced so the interest is constantly kept up, a wide pool of believable suspects. In the denouement he's very specific about what exactly happened and also gives the page numbers of the clues used to build the case. Admittedly you could pick holes in it a bit but it satisfied me. I'd have liked a little bit more of an epilogue but ah well. The mystery as a whole is really satisfying and clever without ever really breaching suspension of disbelief or being too complicated to keep track of (although there's definitely a good amount of trickery involved, it's the totally fair kind). You'll only like it if you like the mystery aspect a lot BUT if you do it's a pretty neat story, imo. Not being specific about stuff because the interest is all in the mystery and I don't want to spoil it at all, heh. ( )

An excellent read, another of the Inspector French series.

French is with Scotland Yard, often called upon regional police to provide extra support or indeed to take over the investigations of significant crimes, usually (as here) apparent murders.

The set up here is that the semi retired Dr Earle, disappears one evening, apparently walking out of his rural, somewhat isolated house, in his house slippers and without an outdoor coat or cap (notwithstanding the cold). Notwithstanding extensive searches by his family, neighbours and some guests, and subsequently the police, nothing is found. And the reason for the disappearance (is it murder or kidnap) defies identification, though there are some early (and later) suggestions, each of which seem nonsensical.

There is a suggestion that Earle may have been involved with a mystery woman (Earle's wife is also thought to be having a liaison with a neighbour), but the mystery woman is significantly younger, so there is some doubt as to that (remember this was first published some 90 years ago!) but an alternative explanation is hard to pin down without identifying that woman.

Identification is achieved, but before she can be contacted, she also disappears under mysterious circumstances.

One of Earle's visitors who was staying at his home at the time of his disappearance, also subsequently disappears from the same house.

During all of this, French patiently investigates, interviews, accumulates facts and thoughts and continually comes up with theses, none of which for a long time match the seeming facts.

It is the following of French's thought processes which makes this an enjoyable (for me at least) read, though I accept some will regard it all as being a bit boring. plodding etc. As to the plodding suggestion, French is not one of those plodding coppers... he is very astute (but not of the Sherlock Holmes type of being able to identify more than a hundred types of cigarettes and cigars from their respective ashes!) but it is just that the puzzle is complicated and its solution requires a lot of investigation.

The depiction of the final answer is clear and illuminated by a series of timelines, diagrams etc. There is alis a cross reference to the pages within the book as to where the various clues are first made clear.

Whilst a few of the assumptions implicit in some of the conclusions that French would not apply reading 90 years later, those are few in number and are tolerably believable (having read other fiction and non fiction of that era).

I will be reading more by Crofts, and am hoping this is not the pinnacle of his works (though some other reviewers suggest it is right up there).

Big Ship

30 June 2023 ( )

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley. ( )

Good old fashioned cozy mystery. I loved the methodical tracking down of clues and alibis. Good puzzle! Thank you to my sister, Jane for pointing it out to me. ( )

The disappearance of Dr. Earle brings Inspector French to the Surrey downs. Dr. Earle simply vanished one Sunday evening, without even taking his coat and outdoor shoes. Was it foul play, or was it an affair? A nurse in London, who was seen with the doctor, has also disappeared, giving rise to the affair suggestion. But then a third party disappears—making it look most definitely like murder. But without a discernible motive, French can’t make head or tail of the case.

This is a very patiently plotted case. French’s appeal lies in his meticulous following of police procedure: following up every lead, continually going back over his notes, challenging all of his assumptions. From that standpoint, it’s a bit slow and can feel a bit serious. But there are flashes of humour: for example, I laughed at the part where French hands his card to a person he’s interviewing and the person smiles and says “you want an international conference — my name is English, my colleague’s name is Welsh, too bad this fellow isn’t called Scott.”

Of the Frenches I’ve read, this one is one of the lesser books for me, just because it is a bit ploddy and doesn’t involve boats or trains or planes. But it is not entirely a “cozy” book—the murder is actually quite shocking.

This book does contain throwaway references to previous cases, so if the mere mention of a previous case constitutes a spoiler for you, then you’ll want to read this book in its proper series order. ( )