The Mystery of Lincoln's Inn

by Robert Machray

It was at half-past ten in the forenoon of a Saturday in July that Mr. Cooper Silwood, precise in attire, composed in appearance, and punctual as usual to the minute, walked into his room on the first floor of 176 New Square, Lincoln's Inn, where were the offices of Eversleigh, Silwood and Eversleigh, the well-known and long-established firm of solicitors of which he was a partner. He was met, as was customary, on his entrance by the head-clerk, John Williamson, who had already opened and sorted out methodically the letters received over-night. An admirable specimen of his class, Williamson generally wore an air of great imperturbability, but this morning his face had a troubled expression. "Anything special, Mr. Williamson?" asked Silwood quietly, putting away his hat and gloves.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Classics

146 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1912

Reviews

[Athena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thoroughly uninteresting.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cleverly plotted enough. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for Victorian melodrama the day I read it...I found myself considerably skeptical that even in this era, one of the characters would allow herself to be blackmailed into taking the action she does to save her loved ones from Terrible Disgrace.

(I did get a chuckle out of the part where a British character needs to travel to America in pursuit of a clue, and has to haul out the atlas to find out where on the continent a major city is. Also the scene where a crime is committed in broad daylight and the author remarks in all seriousness that only the Englishness of the witnesses saved the culprit from instant annihilation—Americans would have lynched him on the spot!)

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a free download and provided an easy, quick read.

Financial duplicity, blackmail, murders and romance all feature in this fairly typical 1912 mystery.

It is quite well-written although not very puzzling.

The author was a clergyman turned writer, but there is fortunately not much by way of moralising here.

Really 2.5 stars.

[Robert Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best!

One of the best mysteries I have read! The plot and the story line kept my interest with no foul.language. I look forward to reading other books by Machray.

[BETSY COLLINS · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Good Read

I most enjoy well written mysteries, especially if they offer a view into another era with the vocabulary of its time period. The late Victorian characters, especially of England, stretch ones intuition as to what might happen next since the culture and mores are vastly different from today's, making the plot twists less predictable. I could almost rank this book with a work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's. Almost.

[Chazzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery part was of more interest than the romantic part. Written in a Victorian style, it got a little boggy in parts. The plot and twists of the mystery portions were very enjoyable.

Taking place in England, one of the partners of an attourney firm discovers another has been embezzling clients' monies. The embezzler freely admits it and then disappears when a letter is received stating a top client is arriving and will be auditing his accounts. The embezzling puts the firm in a bad situation.

Add on to this another client making demands of money from their account, a death certificate stating the missing attourney is dead, blackmail by one client to get the hand of the girl he wants in marriage for his silence about the crime and you have some great threads to weave this mystery tale.

If you enjoy the Victorian style, this could be just for you.

[Dew Mikelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read as I am attracted to British Edwardian era writing. While billed to be mystery I found it to be more of an account of events in the sense you know who the players are as well as their good and bad deeds and their is no real enigma. While there was not much suspense I did find that I was interested in the story line and the people who Machray detailed so well. However there were some of the character that had such little purpose to the story and gone as soon as they were introduced that I wonder why they were written in.

[Elizabeth Haire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lincoln's Inn

This is a classic-style page-turner with enough twists and turns of plot to keep the reader guessing. Solicitors and Financial Professionals are the chief characters. I would recommend this to readers who like intrigue in a professional atmosphere where money seems to be plentiful and life seems to be splendid.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another book which I read as a member of the Methodist Book Club which meets monthly, more or less, in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. Machray is a careful and proficient writer. I enjoyed the book.

[Kathy Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical English melodrma with villians, heroes and damsels in distress. I did like trying to guess the answers to the mystery.

[Raymond Spitzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half really dragged. I almost quit reading it, and in fact read other books in between reading sessions in this book. But the second half caught my interest and was quite good.

[Danna Jones harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy classics like Sherlock Holmes you'll probably enjoy this book. Though not as well written as Holmes' adventures, it is a fun read, and was fairly interesting.

[Donna Caudill]

Held my breath till I finished the book!!

Gave it this rating because it is. very good.It has unexpected twists. Just had to finish it.
Did not expect it to hold my attention.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was well written, clean, and pleasant to read. It was a little predictable to me. I figured out the mystery, and predicted the ending. But I enjoyed the characters.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this because it was a free Kindle book. The style seems similar to the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

[LORIE CAIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reading

Story kept your interest. Never knew what was going to happen. Would recommend it to my family and friends read it.

[Jackie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery was pretty good and holds up pretty well even though it was written in 1910.