 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | Freeman Wills Crofts |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Inspector French |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Publisher | Collins (UK) Harper (US) |
Publication date | 1932 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Mystery in the Channel |
| Followed by | Death on the Way |
Sudden Death is a 1932 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. [1] It is the eighth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. [2]
After a period out of work Anne Day is employed as housekeeper for the Grinsmead family in Kent. At first the well paid job is seemingly idyllic for the young woman, as there is comparatively little work and the setting of the house in picturesque. She gets on well with the other employees including Edith the governess. Mr. Grimstead, a solicitor is in London much of the day while his wife Sybil takes very little interest in Anne's work. Things dramatically change when Sybil confides to Anne that she believes her husband may be plotting to kill her, due to his desire to leave her for another woman. Although Sybil is apparently neurotic and paranoid, Anne has witnessed her husband's discreet dalliances with a married lady.
When Sybil is then found dead in a locked room having gassed herself, it is widely assumed she has committed suicide. Anne is torn between her fear of losing her comfortable position at the house and her conscience which tells her she is holding back what may be the truth. The arrival of Inspector French to study the matter further unsettles the whole household. He finds nothing at first to contradict the original police investigation's verdict of suicide and is about to abandon the inquiry when at the last minute he discovers a crucial piece of evidence that points to murder. Now deciding that Grimstead and his lover have joined forces to murder his wife, he sets out to gather enough proof to successfully bring them to trial. Believing he has cracked the case, French is about to arrest Grimstead when the soliciter is found shot dead in his study, again in a locked room: apparently a suicide, due to his remorse at the killing.
Arresting Grimstead's lover, who is sent to Maidstone Prison to await trial, the case seems sewn up. Then French and Anne Day both begin to suspect that Grimstead's death was not a suicide, and that the real culprit is someone else in the household.
Freeman Wills Crofts FRSA was an Irish mystery author, best remembered for the character of Inspector Joseph French.
Inspector Joseph French is a fictional British police detective created by Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts. French was a prominent detective from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, appearing in twenty nine novels and a number of short stories between 1924 and 1957. The character was introduced in the 1924 novel Inspector French's Greatest Case, where he investigates a deadly diamond robbery in Hatton Garden. The series relied largely on puzzle mysteries.
Crime at Guildford is a 1935 detective novel by the writer Freeman Wills Crofts. Crofts was a leading figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction and often set his novels in Surrey where he lived close to Guildford. It was the thirteenth in a series of novels featuring Inspector French. It was published in America by Dodd Mead under the alternative title The Crime at Nornes.
The Sea Mystery is a 1928 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the fourth in a series of novels featuring Inspector French of Scotland Yard. As with a number of his works Crofts creates a puzzling mystery which French is then able to solve using a Tide table and Bradshaw's Guide to the railways. The plot has some similarities with his debut novel The Cask (1920).
The Groote Park Murder is a 1923 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, one of the leading figures of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was one of several stand-alone novels Crofts wrote following his successful debut The Cask, before creating the character of Chief Inspector French who debuted the following year in Inspector French's Greatest Case.
The Pit-Prop Syndicate is a 1922 thriller novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, one of the leading figures of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was one of several stand-alone novels Crofts wrote following his successful debut The Cask, before creating the character of Inspector French who debuted in Inspector French's Greatest Case (1924).
Fear Comes to Chalfont is a 1942 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-third in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Like much of the author's work it combines a traditional mystery with a police procedural.
Antidote to Venom is a 1938 detective novel by the Irish-born novelist Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the eighteenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective known for his methodical technique. It was reissued in 2015 by the British Library Publishing as part of a group of crime novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
The End of Andrew Harrison is a 1938 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the seventeenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. The title character closely resembles Sigsbee Manderson, the murder victim of E.C. Bentley's celebrated 1913 novel Trent's Last Case.
The Loss of the Jane Vosper is a 1936 detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the fourteenth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his thorough technique. It particularly dwells on the process of police procedure.
Inspector French's Greatest Case is a 1924 mystery detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. Like much of the following series the plot mixes the traditional form of the puzzle mystery with that of a police procedural. French has to carefully study railway and shipping timetables and crack a cipher in order to solve his case.
The Box Office Murders is a 1929 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the fifth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was published in the United States the same year by Harper under the alternative title The Purple Sickle Murders.
Golden Ashes is a 1940 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twentieth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent investigator of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
Invisible Weapons is a 1938 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the twenty eighth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. A locked room mystery, the title revolves around the fact that two murders are committed by apparently invisible methods.
Death on the Way is a 1932 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the ninth in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a prominent figure of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was published in the United States the same year by Harper under the alternative title Double Death.
Death in Harley Street is a 1946 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the forty third in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. Several sources consider it to be the author's masterpiece.
French Strikes Oil is a 1951 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty eighth and penultimate entry in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. It was published in the United States by Dodd Mead under the alternative title of Dark Journey.
Silence for the Murderer is a 1949 detective novel by the writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-seventh entry in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique. The book attempt to create more complex characterisation than was usual in the series.
Death on the Boat Train is a 1940 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the thirty second in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. As in most of the later novels much of the detective footwork is done by Inspector Waghorn of Scotland Yard. The construction of the murder setting bears similarities to Death in the Tunnel, written by Street under his other pen name Miles Burton. With is focus on seemingly unbreakable alibis and railway and ship timetables, it is also similar in style to the Inspector French novels of Freeman Wills Crofts.
James Tarrant, Adventurer is a 1941 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty-first in his series of novels featuring Chief Inspector French of Scotland Yard, written during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Published in Britain by Hodder and Stoughton, it was released in America by Dodd Mead under the alternative title Circumstantial Evidence.
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