Cecil John Charles Street, who was known to his colleagues, family and friends as John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British Army. During the course of World War I, he became a propagandist for MI7, in which role he held the rank of Major. After the armistice, he alternated between Dublin and London during the Irish War of Independence as Information Officer for Dublin Castle, working closely with Lionel Curtis. He later earned his living as a prolific writer of detective novels.
The Speaker of Mandarin is a detective novel by British crime writer Ruth Rendell, first published in 1983. It is the 12th novel in her popular Inspector Wexford series. The plot follows the popular Kingsmarkham policeman as he returns from a holiday to China and investigates the death of another tourist.
Mist on the Saltings is a 1933 mystery thriller novel by the British writer Henry Wade. It marked a change in Wade's work, part of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, with a shift toward more realistic character development and a favouring of accurate police procedural methods over the puzzle elements compared to his earlier novels. Celebrated crime novelist Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a review of the novel for the Sunday Times.
Come Away, Death is a 1937 mystery detective novel by the British writer Gladys Mitchell. It is the eight in her long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur detective Mrs Bradley. Although the plot revolves around Greek Mythology, the title is taken from a line from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. It was followed by a loose sequel Lament for Leto in 1971.
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 Affair at Little Wokeham is a 1943 detective novel by the Irish writer Freeman Wills Crofts. It is the twenty fourth 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 under the alternative title of Double Tragedy.
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.
The Paddington Mystery is a 1925 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It marked the first appearance of the Lancelot Priestley, who featured in a long-running series of novels during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. A scientific genius, Priestley is an armchair detective who can solve a mystery without actually visiting the scene of the crime.
Hendon's First Case is a 1935 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the twenty first in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. The novel introduced the character Inspector Jimmie Waghorn, a graduate of the newly established Hendon Police College. Over time Waghorn would increasingly become the dominant figure of the series, taking over the role from Priestley who took up a smaller, advisory role.
Death at Breakfast is a 1936 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the twenty third in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It received a negative review from Cecil Day-Lewis, writing as Nicholas Blake in The Spectator noting "Some attempt is made to establish the character of the victim, but the remaining dramatis personae are stuffed men".
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.
The Two Graphs is a 1950 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the fiftieth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It was published in America by Dodd Mead under the alternative title Double Identities. Writing in The Observer Maurice Richardson noted a "slight slackening of tension towards the finish but an excellent specimen of Rhode’s later period."
The Secret of High Eldersham is a 1930 detective novel by Miles Burton, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It was the first novel in a lengthy series featuring the detective Desmond Merrion. Street was one of the most prolific authors of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction and had already enjoyed success with his Doctor Priestley series, written under the name of John Rhode. In 1931 it was published in the United States by the Mystery League under the altered title The Mystery of High Eldersham. Originally published in Britain by the Collins Crime Club, it was reissued in 2016 by British Library Publishing as part of a series of crime novels the Golden Age.
Beware Your Neighbour is a 1951 detective novel by the British writer Cecil Street, writing under the pen name of Miles Burton. It was part of a lengthy series of books featuring the detective Desmond Merrion and Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard. Unlike much of the series it takes place in suburban rather than rural England. Reviewing the novel in The Spectator Esther Howard wrote " I always find that Mr. Burton has nearly the most colourless detectives, prose-style and plots of anyone in the business, and Beware Your Neighbour, death in an exclusive thoroughfare, though mechanically adequate, is entirely devoid of excitement."
The Secret Meeting is a 1951 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the fifty second in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It was published in America the same year by Dodd Mead. Unusually for the series it has an early Cold War element.
The House on Tollard Ridge is a 1929 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It marked the sixth appearance of the armchair detective Lancelot Priestley, who featured in a long-running series of novels during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The plot was partly inspired by Rudyard Kipling's short story Wireless, which Rhode mentions in the novel.
The Robthorne Mystery is a 1934 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the seventeenth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It was published in the United States the same year by Dodd Mead.
Men Die at Cyprus Lodge is a 1943 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the thirty eighth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. Reviewing it for the San Francisco Chronicle, Anthony Boucher wrote "at his best, nobody can touch Rhode for ingenious murder gadgets and very few can top him for meticulous unravelling; he's very close his best in this one".
Dead on the Track is a 1943 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the thirty seventh in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. Like a number of mystery novels of the era, it has a railway setting. In theme and plot it is very similar to the author's earlier 1931 work Tragedy on the Line. It is the first entry in the series since Hendon's First Case (1935) in which Priestley's old associate Hanslet is the lead investigator. The other recurring police officer in the series Inspector Jimmy Waghorn is now working with military intelligence.
Death at the Helm is a 1941 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the thirty fourth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It makes reference to earlier stories in the series as the lawyer had defended in court the murderers Priestley had exposed in The Corpse in the Car and Death on the Boat Train. The characters in it were arguably more complexly drawn than in other books by the author.
