Admittedly, some books in the series ( British Library Crime Classic) are a bit outdated. But this one really works, well developed characters, a nice setting and a bit of an atmosphere. Even after all those years ,it remains a good read. ( )

I read this as satire. It only works for me as satire. If this was written as a serious mystery, then this book has a lot of issues. ( )

Dorothy L. Sayers loved the writing of Anthony Rolls, so I went into this with expectations. And the writing was excellent – I enjoyed the way Rolls (that is, Colwyn Edward Vulliamym using the pen name Anthony Rolls) strung words together. Believable characters, believable dialogue, tension and humor both.

The reason I didn't rate this higher or enjoy this more is that once the characters' roles were sorted out – for the apparent murder victim was not who I expected it to be – I foresaw pretty much everything that was to come. Funnily enough, it's as though Rolls anticipated this: "Does the reader now perceive the shadow of these events? If so, I congratulate him upon possessing a swift and practical imagination."

Still, the writing was excellent, everything you could ask of a solid Golden Age mystery. "Their boy, Peter Laud Ellingham, was about twelve years old—he was not more offensive than the average boy of twelve." "We spent our time very harmoniously and pleasantly, and in a manner that was decidedly sociable without being too restrained. It has always been my belief that only intelligent people know how to enjoy themselves." The glancing blow at the Great War and the narrator's part in it is kind of wonderful. I felt an actual pang when I realized who the murder victim was; I was worried about what would happen to the star-crossed couple who obviously belonged together. Dorothy Sayers wrote about him, "he handles his characters like a 'real' novelist and the English language like a 'real' writer—merits which are still, unhappily, rarer than they should be in the ranks of the murder specialists". Unhappily, that hasn't changed, so actual good writing still has a worth far above rubies or pearls.

I look forward to tracking down as much as possible by this author, under whatever name I can find him.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. ( )

I was disappointed by this book mostly because of the ending. The story is told by a narrator who is someone other than the detective. That's OK even though the reader is kept mostly in the dark about how the "detective" is going about his investigation. That's left until the reveal at the end, although there is plenty of broad hints throughout the book about whodunit. There are three suspicious disappearances in the book and only one of them is definitely accounted for -- the other two are not finally resolved. There were some arch comments scattered throughout the book about a few tangential characters having a larger role at the end that I couldn't find. The final confrontation with the killer is a bit of a chase, but comes to an unoriginal ending. Altogether, an unsatisfying conclusion to the story.
While the story is strung out over many years, including the entire time of WW1, it goes quickly and is easy to follow. I cannot figure out why it needed be be told in this way, the long time span added nothing to the story.
All in all, an OK story with a different approach to its narration.

p.s. Martin Edwards wrote an introduction that provided some interesting background about the author. ( )