Working with the British Library, Poisoned Pen Press is reissuing a slew of mysteries in very stylish paperback period format, written by some forgotten (but popular in their time) writers of the Golden Age of British crime fiction. John Bude, whose real name was Ernest Elmore, was one of the founders of the Crime Writers' Association and produced 30 detective stories. This one marked the second appearance of Superintendent Meredith, a detective who goes to any length to solve crimes (he first appeared in The Lake District Murder ). The mystery centers on a particularly creepy method of body disposal - after one of the two brothers who operate a farm featuring a lime kiln disappears, a thigh bone is discovered in a bag of lime delivered to a local shop. A scene that is especially startling in a book filled with jaw-dropping scenes is that of a retired anthropologist (who sometimes helps police with anatomy) picking up the thigh bone and carrying it under his arm as if it were an umbrella. The finding and piecing together of the victim's body, with its sinister but matter-of-fact tone, is worthy of Hitchcock. Superintendent Meredith, in these pre-forensic days, relies on his interrogation techniques and common deductive sense to find motive and murderer. The layers of relationships and secrets Bude unearths through his questioning are riveting. A wonderful rediscovery. (starred review)
“Already it looked as if the police were up against a carefully planned and cleverly executed murder, and, what was more, a murder without a corpse!” Two brothers, John and William Rother, live together at Chalklands Farm in the beautiful Sussex Downs. Their peaceful rural life is shattered when John Rother disappears and his abandoned car is found. Has he been kidnapped? Or is his disappearance more sinister - connected, perhaps, to his growing rather too friendly with his brother's wife? Superintendent Meredith is called to investigate - and begins to suspect the worst when human bones are discovered on Chalklands farmland. His patient, careful detective method begins slowly to untangle the clues as suspicion shifts from one character to the next.
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The Sussex Downs Murder
“Already it looked as if the police were up against a carefully planned and cleverly executed murder, and, what was more, a murder without a corpse!” Two brothers, John and William Rother, live together at Chalklands Farm in the beautiful Sussex Downs. Their peaceful rural life is shattered when John Rother disappears and his abandoned car is found. Has he been kidnapped? Or is his disappearance more sinister - connected, perhaps, to his growing rather too friendly with his brother's wife? Superintendent Meredith is called to investigate - and begins to suspect the worst when human bones are discovered on Chalklands farmland. His patient, careful detective method begins slowly to untangle the clues as suspicion shifts from one character to the next.
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The Sussex Downs Murder
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The Sussex Downs Murder
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940170948802 |
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Publisher: | Soundings, Limited |
Publication date: | 10/01/2015 |
Series: | British Library Crime Classic |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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