Author | Anthony Gilbert |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Series | Arthur Crook |
Genre | Mystery thriller |
Publisher | Collins Crime Club (UK) Arcadia Press (US) |
Publication date | 1941 |
Media type | |
Preceded by | Dear Dead Woman |
Followed by | The Woman in Red |
The Vanishing Corpse is a 1941 mystery thriller novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the eighth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor Arthur Crook, one of the more unorthodox detectives of the Golden Age. [1] It was published in the United States under the alternative title She Vanished in the Dawn. [2]
Laura Verity, tired of life, decides to rent a very isolated cottage in the countryside. On arriving there in the darkness in the middle of the storm, she is shocked to find evidence that there is somebody else in the house. Shortly afterwards she discovers a body of a young woman, strangled to death, on the bed. Terrified, in the morning she hurries into the nearest market town to report the crime, only to find the police dubious about her claims - particularly when they return to the cottage with her and find no body. Only Arthur Crook, a dishevelled lawyer she encounter, is ready to believe her. He suggests that she is now in grave danger from the murderer and persuades her to move to a large, busy hotel in Brighton where she will be safer.
The determined Verity perseveres in trying to solve the mystery, assisted at first in an offhand way by Crook. Newspaper publicity at last draws the police into the case, and with Crook's advice they find a body hidden in the well of the cottage. It soon proves to be not the corpse of the missing young woman, but the cottage's previous owner. To add to the confusion Miss Verity has herself now vanished, with Crook concerned that she has fallen into the hands of the murderer.
In 1943 it was very loosely adapted into the British film They Met in the Dark directed by Carl Lamac and starring James Mason, Joyce Howard, Tom Walls. [3] This featured many changes to the novel's plot, including the complete absence of Arthur Crook.
They Met in the Dark is a 1943 British comedy thriller film directed by Karel Lamač and starring James Mason, Joyce Howard and Edward Rigby. The screenplay concerns a cashiered Royal Naval officer and a young woman who join forces to solve a murder and hunt down a German spy ring. The film features a single song sung by Phyllis Stanley, "Toddle Along". The film is very loosely based on the 1941 novel The Vanishing Corpse by Anthony Gilbert.
The Clock in the Hatbox is a 1939 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the fifth in her long-running series featuring the shady London lawyer and detective Arthur Crook. It was published during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Reviewing it for the Times Literary Supplement, Maurice Percy Ashley noted "The tale is very fairly told. Mr. Gilbert, whose work has not perhaps always been sufficiently appreciated in the past, has written a thoroughly entertaining story".
The Bell of Death is a 1939 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the sixth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London lawyer and detective Arthur Crook. It was published during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Reviewing it for the Times Literary Supplement, Maurice Percy Ashley commented "as usual with Mr. Gilbert’s stories this is exciting and well written, but it is so complicated that the reader can do little more than hold his breath".
The Man Who Wasn't There is a 1937 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the second in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor and detective Arthur Crook.
Murder Has No Tongue is a 1937 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the third in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor and detective Arthur Crook.
Treason in My Breast is a 1938 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the fourth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor and detective Arthur Crook. Crook became one of the established characters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, although in this case the novel was more similar to a Victorian melodrama than a conventional whodunnit.
Dear Dead Woman is a 1940 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the seventh in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor and detective Arthur Crook. In 1942 it was published in America under the alternative title Death Takes a Redhead.
Snake in the Grass is a 1954 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the twenty eighth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous solicitor and detective Arthur Crook. It was published in the United States under the alternative title Death Won't Wait. Reviewing it in the New York Times Anthony Boucher described it "one of Gilbert’s duller books", while other reviews were more praiseworthy.
Footsteps Behind Me is a 1953 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the twenty seventh in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous solicitor and detective Arthur Crook. Crook first appeared during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, but the series ran for several decades. It was published in the United States under the alternative title Black Death.
The Night of the Fog is a 1930 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the fifth of ten novels in a series featuring her amatuer detective and politician Scott Egerton, a precursor to her better known creation Arthur Crook.
The Body on the Beam is a 1932 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the sixth of ten novels in a series featuring her amatuer detective and politician Scott Egerton, a precursor to her better known creation Arthur Crook.
An Old Lady Dies is a 1934 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the ninth of ten novels in a series featuring her amatuer detective and politician Scott Egerton, a precursor to her better known creation Arthur Crook. It was reviewed in the Sunday Times by Dorothy L. Sayers.
The Man Who Was Too Clever is a 1935 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the tenth and last in a series of novels featuring her amatuer detective and politician Scott Egerton. The following year she introduced a new character, the unscrupulous solicitor Arthur Crook, in Murder by Experts.
Something Nasty in the Woodshed is a 1942 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the tenth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor and detective Arthur Crook. In 1942 it was published in America under the alternative title Mystery in the Woodshed.
Lady Killer is a 1951 mystery thriller novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the twenty fifth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor Arthur Crook, one of the more unorthodox detectives of the Golden Age.
Don't Open the Door is a 1945 mystery thriller novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the fifteenth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor Arthur Crook, one of the more unorthodox detectives of the Golden Age. It was published in the United States with the alternative title Death Lifts the Latch.
The Long Shadow is a 1932 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the seventh of ten novels in a series featuring her amatuer detective and politician Scott Egerton, a precursor to her better known creation Arthur Crook.
Murder Comes Home is a 1950 mystery thriller novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the twenty third in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor Arthur Crook, one of the more unorthodox detectives of the Golden Age.
Miss Pinnegar Disappears is a 1952 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the twenty sixth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous solicitor and detective Arthur Crook. Crook first appeared during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, but the series ran for several decades. It was published in the United States under the alternative title A Case for Mr. Crook.
The Woman in Red is a 1941 mystery thriller novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the ninth in her series featuring the London solicitor Arthur Crook, one of the more unscrupulous characters of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. It was first published by the Collins Crime Club.