Customer Reviews

Without Lawful Authority: A Tommy Hambledon Novel (Rue Morgue Vintage Mysteries)

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I have all of Manning Coles' books, this one is my favorite. I have read it countless times, and will read it countless times more. It's picture of wartime and English country life is a window into the past; you feel you are there in person. I wish they had put Marden and Warnford into another book. The scene with the farmer and the barn and the subsequent dialogue of the constable on the phone is priceless. Anyone of any age from 12 to 100 would enjoy this book.

I love Manning Coles, my whole family loves Manning Coles, from my parents who started collecting them more than fifty years ago to my children who, grown now, still go back and reread them. This one, in particular, has the combination of humor and action that marks so much of collaboration of Adelaide Manning and Cyril Coles, himself a British Intelligence officer for many years. Hambledon, the main character in most of their books, is only an occasional figure, but the team of Warnford and Marsden more than makes up for the lack of his presence. Lots of fun, a good read.