Customer Reviews

Roger Sheringham and the Vane Mystery

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Roger Sheringham is a writer who investigates the murder of woman fallen from a cliff on the coast of Hampshire, England. He's accompanied by his younger cousin, Anthony, in the role of "idiot friend." "Must have an idiot friend with me, you know," Sheringham tells him. "All the best sleuths do." The novel is characterized by this sort of bantering comic undertone--which adds to the enjoyment of it. The characters are lively and well-defined.

Anthony instantly falls in love with a prime suspect, and Sheringham runs into Inspector Moresby of Scotland Yard. The effort to solve the mystery becomes a contest between the two men, who develop competing theories about the murder. The plot is designed to keep the reader guessing, with surprises popping up just when you think you've figured the puzzle out. Clues turn up, found by either the amateur on professional detective, with each man interpreting the evidence in his own way: Sheringham guided by his imagination and Moresby by his years of experience as a policeman.

Whose approach wins out at the end? Never mind. I won't be a spoiler. Read "The Vane Mystery" to find out. It's an entertaining book that doesn't take itself too seriously, but that doesn't mean that the mystery plot is second-rate.