I assumed from this that British passports had no photograph at this time, but they were actually introduced in 1914. Jimmy implies that it won’t be a problem for Anthony to travel under his name as they’d probably have the same description on a passport.

The story is set in 1926, a year after publication. Is surprisingly agile for so stolid a man, shown when he vaults out of the library window. Was given the rule “Never show emotion” and has found it very useful. Is described as “a squarely built middle-aged man with a face so singularly devoid of expression as to be quite remarkable.” Works for Scotland Yard and has worked on the deplorable business of the party funds. If you do like this book, then I can recommend James Anderson’s “The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy” which is a genuine homage to the Golden Age. As with them it is a nice read, but there is nothing in it to indicate that next time I will be reviewing one of the essential Golden Age Detection works, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”. It is much more a thriller, with Ruritanian influences, and due to the number of elements in play is superior to “The Secret Adversary” and “The Man in the Brown Suit”. I had remembered this as being a traditional country house murder mystery, but it is nothing of the sort.

3 in Historic Homes of England) between the likely new king of Herzoslovakia and a British syndicate interested in negotiating oil concessions.Īnthony deals with various factions interested in the memoirs before locating Mrs Revel, and having assisted her with a temporary inconvenience, arrives at Chimneys just as someone is shot dead.ĭue to the sensitivity of the case, Superintendent Battle (a cut above Inspector Japp) is given control of the investigation, and whilst he doesn’t completely trust Anthony, he allows him his head to a certain extent and between them they manage to make everything turn out “all gas and gaiters”.

Anthony Cade is entrusted by his friend Jimmy McGrath to deliver the memoirs of Count Stylptitch, former Prime Minister of Herzoslovakia, to a London publisher and to return some personal letters to a Virginia Revel.Īt the same time, George Lomax is arranging for a meeting to take place at Chimneys (No.

The chimneys agatha christie