The Mystery of the Peacock’s Eye

Anthony Bathurst #3

by Brian Flynn

“Anonymity is such a terribly strong position in which to entrench one’s self. To you I am Sheila Delaney – to me you are – an unknown quantity.”

At the Hunt Ball in Westhampton, Sheila Delaney dances the night away with a stranger – a man who wanted only to be known as Mr X. At the end of the evening, he departs as mysteriously as he appeared.

Months later, private investigator Anthony Bathurst is approached by the Crown Prince of Clorania over a nasty blackmail case.

At the same time a sea-side dentist finds that the girl he was treating has been found dead, apparently injected with cyanide.

The three events prove to be intimately related, and Anthony Bathurst and Chief Detective-Inspector Bannister find themselves on the trail of an exceptionally ruthless murderer.

London: John Hamilton Ltd., 1928.

“One of the ablest pieces of misdirection one could wish to meet” Sutherland Scott

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Detective, Crime

ebook

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

"Brian Flynn, English author and an accountant in government service, a lecturer in elocution and speech, an amateur actor. He wrote about 50 novels, mostly for the library market. His serial character is Anthony Bathurst." - fantasticfiction.com

Also wrote under the pseudonym Charles Wogan.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

A very competent murder mystery, nicely constructed, with some great twists. I predicted some of the ending but was blindsided by the culprit, well played sir. A smidge of antisemitism, regrettably, and some Kiplingesque Orientalist nonsense used a bit more cleverly than usual.

[Puzzle Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic of the genre, deserving of a reprint. Full review at classicmystery.wordpress.com

[Calum Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+:

Even for 1928, its characters feel a tad too proper, but Flynn is really adept at misdirecting the reader. It feels like once the story reaches the end the murderer could be one of five people, and then it turns out to be somebody else! Very fun.

[Christine PNW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good mystery - Brian Flynn had me guessing to the very end!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author appears to have loaded a shotgun with punctuation and discharged it at close range into his manuscript. He should have included fewer dashes, fewer hyphens, fewer exclamation marks and a lot more commas (some of them in places that he uses dashes, some in places where he puts no punctuation at all). Proof, if it were needed, that some publishers a century ago sometimes put out badly edited work, just like many publishers today.

Neither the amateur detective nor the police inspector has a lot of personality, and I kept confusing them, because they both have names starting with B.

A bookie is introduced at one point as a minor character. Before we even meet him, the author alludes to his maid's appearance as indicating that she's Jewish. Then he similarly indicates that the bookie himself is Jewish. After that, he points out his Jewishness, and then after stereotyping him two or three times, concludes by making the point (in case you had missed it) that he's Jewish. If this isn't quite antisemitism, it's a close cousin to it, especially since his ethnic origin has nothing to do with anything.

The plot doesn't make a ton of sense. It's sometimes unclear which parts were coincidence and which parts were planning, especially since the murderer steals a suitcase from a luggage trolley at a hotel, possibly at random, so that the victim won't be identified immediately to give him time to do something I've forgotten, and registers the victim at a different hotel under the name of the suitcase's owner, who, as it happens, is acquainted with the victim, even though neither of them are anywhere near their hometown. The victim then apparently signs in under that name, which can't be accounted for by anything other than some prearrangement with her that the resolution of the plot never mentions and that isn't especially plausible. The twist is unusual, but I don't think the author played very fair with the reader in leading up to it. And one of the two motives for the crime is muddied by a backstory that comes almost straight out of one of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

For me, it was a bit of a miss, and I won't be reading more from this author.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly the best of Flynn's books that I have read so far. Having started off with one of the later ones and quite enjoyed it, I decided to try to read them in chronological order. The plot is well reviewed here by others so I won't repeat. The introduction by Steve Barge is interesting and as he says it is a masterpiece of misdirection. Flynn writes very "correctly", I would say, and the style is rather dated even for the time of writing but none the worse for that. All the characters are frightfully polite. There are usually a few words that I haven't come across before and need to look up. There are plenty more of Bathurst's exploits to read and I look forward to trying a few more.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit pompous and mannered but well-plotted and paced. It sits between Conan Doyle and the Golden Age greats - strong on timing, observation and possibilities but short in character development. A bit out to shock, or at least take the reader by surprise. Clever but not gripping.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 4.5 from me.... I did figure out the big twist, but just by luck not because I was a smart and careful reader. It was a very satisfying conclusion. I am warming up to Anthony Bathhurst and will be moving ahead with more adventures with him.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without doubt the best GAD novel I have read this year, with apologies to Moray Dalton, Joan Cowdroy, Michael Gilbert and Dorothy Bowers. My congratulations to Dean Street Press and Steve Barge (the Puzzle Doctor) for resurrecting a true classic.

Having previously read only 'The Billiard Room Mystery", which I did not overly enjoy, I had some doubts approaching this. However, the misdirection here is masterly, and Anthony Bathurst much more likeable. The tone is light and the characterisation vivid. There are a few annoyances in the plot, mainly the non-revealing of information in order to preserve the huge surprise in the reveal, but on the whole the plotting is fair, and the solution well-founded. I was completely mystified!

This is a must-read for lovers of Golden Age detection. The Introduction is interesting and informative, and the cover well-chosen.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Dean Street Press for the digital review copy.

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Private and personal detective Anthony Bathurst is tasked by The Crown Prince of Clorania to retrieve a photograph of himself with Daphne Carruthers, at the Westhampton Hunt Ball, fearing that it might cause a scandal for his upcoming marriage. While on the inquiry Bathhurst discovers that Miss Carruthers has been murdered at dentist in Seabourne. This case is investigated by top Scotland Yard detective Inspector Bannister but the two join forces when it comes to light that Miss Carruthers is not dead but it is her friend Sheila Delaney who owned a gold and emerald necklace known as the Peacock's Eye which is now missing. Like Brian Flynn's previous novels this a very complicated but benefits from not have a "Doctor Watson" style narrator. If you like complex mysteries "Peacock's Eye" is ideal but not for someone who let's his mind wander, like me.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Golden Age Mystery with shades of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. The Crown Prince of a European country is being blackmailed with regards to an old flame. So he calls in Anthony Bathurst to find out who the blackmailer is. But before that can happen, a girl is found is murdered in a dentist's chair. A vacationing Scotland Yard Inspector is pulled into the case, and Anthony Bathurst finds that the Crown Prince's interests and the case of the girl in the dentist chair intersect. From then on there is a case of mistaken identity, a spurned lover, a disconsolate old nanny, and the mysterious jewel that the dead girl took from her bank vault the day she was murdered.

I was totally surprised by the identity of the murderer, so that's always a plus.

[Jazz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more, as I'd heard Brian Flynn's books were not to be missed and this title was supposedly one of his best. Granted, the mystery itself was intriguing and puzzling, and the solution came as a big surprise, but that wasn't enough to satisfy me as a reader. It was tough slogging through it largely due to the writing—clunky and humorless—and far too wordy, verbose, and long-winded. (Just like that phrase, why use one word when you can use three that mean the same thing?) I really couldn't wait to finish it, but I suppose that proves it was interesting enough to get to the end. This was Flynn's third book, so I will try another later in his career to see if he ever met an editor.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit put off at first by the author's florid and polysyllabic vocabulary, but after a chapter or two I got interested in the story. Unfortunately, a few chapters from the end, I discovered that the author hadn't been playing fair. Important information left out of certain scenes to give a deliberately false impression, emphasis on various past events that turned out to have nothing to do with the story and, in fact, suggested a different kind of story altogether... I was not amused when the murderer was revealed, it felt too contrived and unlikely to me. One of the supposed tipoffs would only be relevant to a Greek scholar--I actually thought it was a misprint. So not my cup of tea. I won't be looking for more stories in the series.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

I found this a better than average mystery novel from the 1920’s.
The character of Bathurst seems to have settled down a bit after the first novels in the series.
The plot and mystery elements I thought were very good.
BF is a very easy writer to read, the novel moves along at a fair pace.
This had some good twists and turns in the story and the finale was also very well done.
Must admit though that I still haven’t warmed to Bathurst as the main series character.
Will still continue with the series though as the novels, at least these first 3, are an entertaining read.

[Theunis Snyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mystery with one surprising revelation following the other until the final surprise. Very readable. I just have two problems. The first is that I find it strange that someone makes an appointment with a dentist without giving their name. The second is that I can’t believe that people wrote down the numbers of banknotes with transactions. But this book dates from the late 1920s. So things might have been done differently then. Nevertheless, this loses the book a star.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This EXCEPTIONAL mystery has an exceedingly clever plot. It flies in the face of appearances with some subtle and careful clues. Some of the interviews are extremely well-written, such as where Bannister is following the trail of some missing money which ends up going full circle. The murderer is a genuine surprise but still completely logical.

Definitely worth your while. Highly highly recommended and one of the best golden age mysteries I have read.

[Craig Beattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. It is a little overwritten in places (lots of “he exclaimed angrily”), but that’s made up for by the masterful plotting. Flynn adeptly unfolds the mystery in a way that always followed my train of thought - he clearly understood his readers. The denouement is fantastic and I can virtually guarantee you won’t see the solution coming. Look forward to sampling more of these recently republished gems.

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like the previous Bathurst mystery I read, this was unfulfilling. Gave up about 100 pages in, not feeling interested in picking it up again. I found it confusing and had trouble keeping the characters straight in my mind (granted, I read slowly and not a lot in one sitting, so...) Also found the whole crown prince of some imaginary country silly.

[Brandly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

This was my first Brian Flynn book and I enjoyed very much. Anthony Bathurst is an amiable sleuth without the usual conceit.
One of the better misdirection endings in the genre.

[Sirshendu Chakraborty · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best reprints of 2019. This series is really good and this book is a real gem from the golden age. People who like true puzzles in the golden age style would totally love this mystery with a brilliant solution. Highly recommended.

[BJ Hal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book with an excellent piece of misdirection. This is definitely my favourite of the three Anthony Bathurst mysteries that I've read. The first, The Billiard Room Mystery, I found so so and the second, The Murders Near Mapleton, I found Bathurst quite irritating and didn't like his attitude to the inspector. This one however, didn't have the same I'm much cleverer than you attitude and in Chief Detective Inspector Bannister there was much more a sense of Bathurst accepting the policeman as an equal.

[SuedePuzzler · Rating 2 out of 5]

If the victim had mentioned the name she thought she had a hotel reservation in, or if the hotel personal had addressed her by her name, then the murder's plan would be spoilt. And did not guests sign the hotel register?

[Sabrina Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with interesting insights from the characters, but I learned that for mysteries (at least this one), I have to find time to really sit down and digest the contents of the book, which I don't have. :(

[FittenTrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel is over-written which makes reading difficult . . There's a decent mystery underneath all the writing

[thearcher89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twist was good, but characters are too boring

[Fanda Kutubuku · Rating 4 out of 5]

A totally engrossing Golden Age mystery with a clever and satisfying twist.
My review: https://klasikfanda.blogspot.com/2024...

[Abhik Gulati · Rating 3 out of 5]

The word is Data

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books by Brian Flynn are proving to be very entertaining and the series is improving all the time. On the surface, this is a step by step procedural, but that is only on the surface.

[Lelia Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gentleman sleuth Anthony Bathurst and Scotland Yard’s Chief Detective-Inspector Richard Bannister work together to discover how three separate cases are indeed not separate but intertwined to a fare thee well. Blackmail, murder, indiscretions, thievery, hidden identities and a “magnificent blue-shaded emerald”…all come together clue by clue in this delightful traditional mystery full of red herrings that had me coming and going, always eager to follow the next lead.

Aficionados of Golden Age mysteries will want to get their hands on this long-forgotten book as soon as possible. You might say it’s criminal that Brian Flynn‘s works fell into a black hole many years ago but, now that new editions of some of his titles are being released, we all have a chance to savor a journey back in time.