Death At Hallows End (Carolus Deene Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Leo Bruce BRUCE (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005 | Series: Carolus Deene Mysteries

In this “rousing mystery” (Booklist), Gentleman Detective Carolus Deene, the schoolmaster created by Bruce and featured in so many of his other books, has his work cut out for him this time. A respectable solicitor has vanished into thin air in the remote village of Hallows End. Deene senses foul play, and when he goes on the hunt for the missing lawyer, the wealthy client himself suffers a heart attack in what proves to be too much of a coincidence for Deene. Deene ferrets out the culprits in his own inimitable style. Julian Symons of the Sunday Times has said of this series, “Mr. Leo Bruce is one of the few criminal practitioners who keep the tattered old flag of pure detection flying high.”

 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Academy Chicago continues its reissuing of the work of British crime-fiction master Bruce with this rousing mystery, originally published in 1965 but now appearing for the first time in the U.S. Carolus Deene, Bruce's independently wealthy schoolmaster and amateur sleuth, faces a particularly baffling case with the disappearance of solicitor Duncan Humby. Not that suspects don't abound. When Humby "vanished into thin air," he was on this way to the remote village of Hallow's End, where he was going to rewrite the will of an eccentric millionaire who had decided to disinherit his offspring: a classic premise for a classic British village cozy in the grand Christie tradition. Fans of the Golden Age of the British mystery will enjoy watching the witty, oh-so-wise Deene sink his teeth into the seemingly unfathomable puzzle. The best British sleuths, from Lord Peter Wimsey to Inspector Morse, have all managed somehow to make their superciliousness into an attractive character trait; Deene does it as well as anyone. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Academy Chicago is justifiably proud of having discovered Leo Bruce ... Typical of this British author's polished style are those mysteries solved by Carolus Deene. a haughty history schoolmaster whose ratiocinative instincts quicken in atmospheric settings."
-- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

" ... even the seasoned mystery reader ... will recognize Leo Bruce as a master of the genre."
-- Publishers Weekly

"These books are superb examples of the classic British mystery."
-- New York Times Book Review

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers; 1st US ed edition (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897335163
• ISBN-13: 978-0897335164
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,542,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars CLASSIC DETECTION, November 4, 2003

By 

charles falk (Novato, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death At Hallows End (Carolus Deene Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Although this book was just published for the first time here in the US, it was written in 1965. Its style and its hero, Carolus Deene, hark back to an even earlier time -- when gentleman sleuths like Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Doctor Gideon Fell solved mysteries for the sheer intellectual challenge they posed. Deene, independently wealthy, teaches history at Queen's School in the city of "Newminster" to quiet his conscience and gets involved in murder investigations for recreation.

A solicitor he knows slightly vanishes while on a business trip to the remote village of Hallows End. He'd gone there to deliver a will to an important client for signing. By odd coincidence, the client, who was visiting relatives, apparently dies of a heart attack on the same night his lawyer disappears. Carolus is asked to find out what has become of the missing solicitor.

Leo Bruce, a pen name of the late Rupert Croft-Cooke, scatters suspects, false scents, and mysterious events before the reader with gleeful abandon. Some of the characters are straight from central casting, like the pompous headmaster of Queen's School and Deene's housekkeper who cooks "chocolate suffle" and "patty mason" for his supper, but the suspects are a diverse and eccentric lot who defy easy stereotyping. The book is a good read for those who enjoy a classic mystery of deduction. Few readers are likely to come up with the full solution before Deene explains all in the final pages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leo Bruce is just the sort of author who would have made Agatha Christie proud, October 13, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death at Hallows End (Paperback)

Leo Bruce is the pen name used by Rupert Croft-Cooke, who lived between 1903 and 1979. Bruce wrote two separate mystery series: the Sergeant Beef series, which was published between 1937-1952, and the Carolus Deene mysteries, written between 1955-1974. Croft-Cooke also wrote a book of short stories under his own name. Bruce's Carolus Deene is a school teacher who solves mysteries in his spare time.

It is almost time for another school term when Carolus Deene is summoned by the solicitor Lionel Thripp, whose partner Duncan Humby has disappeared while delivering a will to be signed to an old man who thought he would never die and who didn't particularly like his own family. By coincidence James Grossiter is also dead, leaving his fortune to his two nephews, Holroyd and Cyril Neast. There is rumor of an illegitimate son names Hickmansworth. They farm neighboring pieces of land. Grossiter went to Hallows End, the home of his nephews, just before his death. Are these deaths just a coincidence? And where has Humby gotten to? It is up to Carolus Deene to sort through several layers of smokescreens put up by the families to get at the truth:

"Yes, it was possible for a car to be in to the side here and for another car to pass it. But only just. If Duncan Humby was still at the wheel of his car when it stopped here, he must have deliberately pulled it in to leave room for others. There was no sign of any wheel tracks on the grass edges, but that meant nothing, for it had rained since. If there had been anything of the sort, presumably the police would have seen it when they were first informed. He was accustomed to coming too late into an investigation for that sort of evidence and knew that it was not, in any case, his strong point."

Leo Bruce is just the sort of author who would have made Agatha Christie proud. Not only does he write "whodunits" that are nearly impossible to fathom, but he does it with a relaxed style that is as relaxing to read as it is confounding. Bruce's books no double had an impact at the time he wrote them, just as Hollywood was tuning in to how much fun the guessing game could be. Leo Bruce was a masterful writer.

Shelley Glodowski

Senior Reviewer