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Inspector Richardson #1
P.C. Richardson's First Case
The D.D.I. recognized him and smiled. “That was a great case you brought us. You’ll be interested to hear that it is a case of mur-r-der!”
For eight years Basil Thomson headed the famous C.I.D., New Scotland Yard. He knew the Yard inside out. Now in this tale of mystery and detection we are taken behind the scenes. We are shown the greatest detection machine in the world in motion, and see how the Yard tracked down its man.
Stand, then, with young P.C. Richardson on the misty corner of Baker Street, while the traffic of the city swings by, and fate lays at his feet the beginning of his career. Out of the fog brakes shriek, a big car jolts to a stop, and from beneath the wheels the crowd disentangles a bundle of old clothes, within which is a man quite dead; a man who had said to someone, “Very well, then; I’ll call a policeman”—and was killed. Work with him to the ingenious solution, when he takes from his pocket the clue holding the fate of a human life.
Richardson’s First Case was originally published in 1933. This new edition, the first in over seventy years, features an introduction by crime novelist Martin Edwards, author of acclaimed genre history The Golden Age of Murder.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1933
133 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Basil Thomson
121 books16 followersSir Basil Home Thomson, KCB (21 April 1861 – 26 March 1939) was a British intelligence officer, police officer, prison governor, colonial administrator, and writer.
abridged from Wikipedia
abridged from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
February 25, 2019
3.5-4 stars - Very satisfying debut Golden Age police procedural written by a former Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. I’m glad I read this with the Reading the Detectives group. I’m learning about several enjoyable new-to-me authors to try in my favorite genre. Basil Thomson will be one of them!
The Richardson of the title is a London constable on hand as the story opens with a bang - an elderly man has dashed into traffic on a rainy afternoon and been struck down - he dies on the way to the hospital. Richardson begins gathering information, trying to identify the deceased, when he is told by a witness that the old man was heard arguing with someone, and said he was going to “tell that policeman” as he headed into the street to fetch Richardson, but was hit by a vehicle.
Later, the old man’s estranged wife is found dead; an interesting legal problem of inheritance rests on who died first. A pushy, talkative nephew, another straight-arrow nephew who is a naval officer, a drunken artist, and a speed-demon wastrel of a spoiled young man all get involved as witnesses or potential suspects; at the center of all these intriguing characters, the massive, orderly machinery of Scotland Yard grinds away. Even though this book was written in the early 1930s, the police and public prosecutors worry about the same things as today’s officials - public opinion and getting an air-tight case in front of a judge and jury.
This timeless quality, along with good pacing, a solid mystery, appealing and plausible characters makes this an enjoyable mystery- I look forward to reading more of Richardson’s cases!
The Richardson of the title is a London constable on hand as the story opens with a bang - an elderly man has dashed into traffic on a rainy afternoon and been struck down - he dies on the way to the hospital. Richardson begins gathering information, trying to identify the deceased, when he is told by a witness that the old man was heard arguing with someone, and said he was going to “tell that policeman” as he headed into the street to fetch Richardson, but was hit by a vehicle.
Later, the old man’s estranged wife is found dead; an interesting legal problem of inheritance rests on who died first. A pushy, talkative nephew, another straight-arrow nephew who is a naval officer, a drunken artist, and a speed-demon wastrel of a spoiled young man all get involved as witnesses or potential suspects; at the center of all these intriguing characters, the massive, orderly machinery of Scotland Yard grinds away. Even though this book was written in the early 1930s, the police and public prosecutors worry about the same things as today’s officials - public opinion and getting an air-tight case in front of a judge and jury.
This timeless quality, along with good pacing, a solid mystery, appealing and plausible characters makes this an enjoyable mystery- I look forward to reading more of Richardson’s cases!
February 26, 2019
First published in 1933, this is the first in a Golden Age series, featuring P.C. Richardson (who, we learn from the introduction of this book, is very quickly promoted). Author Basil Thomson was both an Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard and a prison governor, and, as such, brings something different to this book. This is not a crime novel where private detectives make intuitive deductions, but there is an emphasis on more routine police work – establishing alibis, checking facts and legwork.
P C Richardson is a young officer ,dreaming of a future in CID, on a foggy corner by Baker Street, when a man is hit by a car, after darting out into traffic. Richardson has to establish the man’s identity and, when he does, he finds a body in his shop. It is the body of the man’s wife, although the couple are separated and, it seems, not amicably. Young Richardson fears his role in the crime will soon be over, but, luckily, he is asked to continue his investigation and his rapid rise through the ranks begins.
This is an interesting mystery, as it is quite different from other Golden Age books, which normally show the police as minor, often slightly comic figures – think Japp in the Poirot series. Here, this is very much a police investigation and Thomson was, obviously, well placed to know all about police procedure. I was not as interested in the characters, but I am pleased that I read this. For anyone interested in Golden Age crime, this is certainly something a little different.
P C Richardson is a young officer ,dreaming of a future in CID, on a foggy corner by Baker Street, when a man is hit by a car, after darting out into traffic. Richardson has to establish the man’s identity and, when he does, he finds a body in his shop. It is the body of the man’s wife, although the couple are separated and, it seems, not amicably. Young Richardson fears his role in the crime will soon be over, but, luckily, he is asked to continue his investigation and his rapid rise through the ranks begins.
This is an interesting mystery, as it is quite different from other Golden Age books, which normally show the police as minor, often slightly comic figures – think Japp in the Poirot series. Here, this is very much a police investigation and Thomson was, obviously, well placed to know all about police procedure. I was not as interested in the characters, but I am pleased that I read this. For anyone interested in Golden Age crime, this is certainly something a little different.
February 26, 2019
I've been learning about some of the lesser known authors of Golden Age Detective fiction. I'll just say this is an author who may well stay lesser known. In a GR group, his story was described as 'plodding' in the same way police go about their work. In my opinion, 'plodding' also refers to his writing style.
I also think there were too many characters. Thomson worked in Scotland Yard for a number of years. Perhaps he was impressed with the multi-layered bureaucracy. Not being familiar with the acronyms (what is the DCAA and why should I care?), the insertion of so many bosses who had to approve the next step in an investigation simply interfered with the story. It also interfered with the mystery, which was not a mystery before even halfway.
I am not sorry to have read this, to have added to my knowledge of another author. It just might have been another series that interested me. However, I will not be continuing the series. I have toyed with whether this actually reaches into the 3-star basket, and I'm afraid it falls just short.
I also think there were too many characters. Thomson worked in Scotland Yard for a number of years. Perhaps he was impressed with the multi-layered bureaucracy. Not being familiar with the acronyms (what is the DCAA and why should I care?), the insertion of so many bosses who had to approve the next step in an investigation simply interfered with the story. It also interfered with the mystery, which was not a mystery before even halfway.
I am not sorry to have read this, to have added to my knowledge of another author. It just might have been another series that interested me. However, I will not be continuing the series. I have toyed with whether this actually reaches into the 3-star basket, and I'm afraid it falls just short.
July 31, 2021
The Golden Age of Mystery (British Edition)!
SIR BASIL THOMSON’S stranger-than-fiction life was packed so full of incident that one can understand why his work as a crime novelist has been rather overlooked.
This was a man whose CV included spells as a colonial administrator, prison governor, intelligence officer, and Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard.
Among much else, he worked alongside the Prime Minister of Tonga (according to some accounts, he was the Prime Minister of Tonga), interrogated Mata Hari and Roger Casement (although not at the same time), and was sensationally convicted of an offence of indecency committed in Hyde Park.
And on top of this, he becomes an author of our new series -Inspector Richardson.
PC Richardson is a young constabulary. Newly graduated and on duty, on a dank, dark, wet and cold November afternoon.
He is dreamily “experiencing” his excellent rise in his career, when suddenly, a car skids heavily, and knocks a man senseless.
Because he is on duty, he begins to determine what is happening, interview witnesses, and close off the scene. (Maybe not in that order).
While searching the body for ID, Richardson’s search leads to family members, an angry ex-wife and a young man who is in debt to the victim.
But as a new PC, solving murders is not a part of his description. Somehow, through luck and fortitude, Richardson becomes a part of the investigation.
SIR BASIL THOMSON’S stranger-than-fiction life was packed so full of incident that one can understand why his work as a crime novelist has been rather overlooked.
This was a man whose CV included spells as a colonial administrator, prison governor, intelligence officer, and Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard.
Among much else, he worked alongside the Prime Minister of Tonga (according to some accounts, he was the Prime Minister of Tonga), interrogated Mata Hari and Roger Casement (although not at the same time), and was sensationally convicted of an offence of indecency committed in Hyde Park.
And on top of this, he becomes an author of our new series -Inspector Richardson.
PC Richardson is a young constabulary. Newly graduated and on duty, on a dank, dark, wet and cold November afternoon.
He is dreamily “experiencing” his excellent rise in his career, when suddenly, a car skids heavily, and knocks a man senseless.
Because he is on duty, he begins to determine what is happening, interview witnesses, and close off the scene. (Maybe not in that order).
While searching the body for ID, Richardson’s search leads to family members, an angry ex-wife and a young man who is in debt to the victim.
But as a new PC, solving murders is not a part of his description. Somehow, through luck and fortitude, Richardson becomes a part of the investigation.
January 17, 2018
A visit to another era, the very early police procedural wherein the author shows he knows his Latin. This was my first venture into the writings of Sir Basil Thomson. The kindle book is reasonably priced, but I may not read further in the series featuring constable Richardson who earns his way into CID with his work on this case.
Richardson is told: "The beginning and the end of C.I.D. work is the collection of evidence that will be water-tight in a court of law. When you reach my age at the job you will realize that you will slip up unless you sweep up all the ragged ends before you attempt to go forward, otherwise you will have half a dozen lawyers pecking at these ragged ends."
This had some amusing interludes and showed some of Thomson's knowledge from his own experience, but it was a slow gathering of evidence with the finger pointing at alternate solutions to a murder following a death by automobile. There were many cooks in this kitchen and many of them sat in strangely hobbled offices piled with paper. Truly it was a picture of another time.
Latin reference? Our constable found one young man at his girlfriend's house, and while waiting to to take him back to headquarters for interview: "there were sounds of osculatory exercises."
This is not a phrase one usually finds in a crime book.
Richardson is told: "The beginning and the end of C.I.D. work is the collection of evidence that will be water-tight in a court of law. When you reach my age at the job you will realize that you will slip up unless you sweep up all the ragged ends before you attempt to go forward, otherwise you will have half a dozen lawyers pecking at these ragged ends."
This had some amusing interludes and showed some of Thomson's knowledge from his own experience, but it was a slow gathering of evidence with the finger pointing at alternate solutions to a murder following a death by automobile. There were many cooks in this kitchen and many of them sat in strangely hobbled offices piled with paper. Truly it was a picture of another time.
Latin reference? Our constable found one young man at his girlfriend's house, and while waiting to to take him back to headquarters for interview: "there were sounds of osculatory exercises."
This is not a phrase one usually finds in a crime book.
June 17, 2016
I sped through this today. It was very enjoyable. It was interesting to read the forward which described Thomson's time at Scotland Yard and as a prison administrator. Interesting person and he brought his real life experience to his novel writing. I'll be reading more of the series....very fun!
November 26, 2016
Another of the recently re-released detective fiction written in the 1930s. This one includes the praise by Dorothy Sayers for the original publication. It's strength, as she points out, is the detailed knowledge of police procedure, based on the author's time at Scotland Yard. It is also the book's weakness. It is, at times, over-burdened with detail. The enticing element is the establishment of Richardson, the young PC who wants to be a detective. We know from the beginning that he will succeed - not a bad device for maintaining our interest.
This is an interesting book in the development of the genre and I will read at least a couple more to see how Richardson - and the author's style - develops.
This is an interesting book in the development of the genre and I will read at least a couple more to see how Richardson - and the author's style - develops.
Read
January 11, 2018Easy to digest police procedural focusing (sometimes just barely) on PC Richardson's first murder case. Strong emphasis on the procedural part, which I discover a reason for reading the author description - Thomson is a former Scotland Yard man.
July 16, 2021
I have wanted to read the Inspector Richardson books for quite some time. I'd heard the background of Basil Thomson and was interested to see if all that police/detective experience had translated to a well-written story.
Thomson's career started almost absurdly: he quits college to become a farmer in America. But fortunately for mystery buffs, especially those, like myself, who enjoy stories from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, that only lasted a short while. He moved into government work, serving in Fiji and Tonga. He then read for the bar — and passed — but instead became a deputy governor in the prison system, eventually advancing to secretary of the Prison Commission.
After that experience, he became assistant commissioner "C" of London's Metropolitan Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department at New Scotland Yard. In 1919, while remaining assistant commissioner, he was appointed Director of Intelligence at the Home Office, in overall charge of every intelligence agency in the United Kingdom until he fell out with Prime Minister Lloyd George in 1921 and was asked to resign.
Could he write an entertaining, exciting, intelligent mystery story? I was not disappointed: this is probably one of the best police procedurals I have ever read!
Clear, concise and to the point, we are introduced to our main character, the lowly police constable Richardson, who while on duty one day, wonders how he could move quickly through the ranks to detective. He is called to an auto accident in which the victim soon dies, and during his investigation to find out why the man ran in front of vehicle, discovers a further death in the man's shop. That death is ruled a murder. Investigators take over the case and it seems that Richardson is no further along on career advancement.
Until he catches the attention of an investigative administrator who decides to give him a chance. And it is then that we see the sharp, quick wits that help Richardson move ahead to achieve his goals — and of course, help untangle the mystery set before Scotland Yard.
And as a procedural, we not only learn more about Richardson as the main character, because in this story it can be argued that he is one of a team, but the colleagues that he works with and whom teach him several things about being a detective. I've seen this in several very good modern works, including Ed McBain's 87th precinct series, but rarely in books that were written during the same period as Thomson wrote this series.
As Richardson learns, readers also learn, all the steps that the police must follow in their efforts to solve the crime, including using their wits to see through lies, misdirection and blind alleys. But those steps are shown in minimal detail, so that the story never gets bogged down. All along, the reader feels like he is a "fly on the wall" during the police discussions and, at least for myself, is always aware of the direction the police are heading in their investigation. This is the missing ingredient that I rarely find in many police procedures and it gives an additional punch of reality to the story. I suppose that only thing that is missing may be the disappointment of following a trail only to have it end up going nowhere. At least in this story they offer up potential false paths but never to the point of not considering everything.
I was never bored with this read. Indeed, I was eager to see what would be the final bit of evidence that would solve the crime. It was deeply satisfying when it did happen. I suppose that it wrapped up a bit too cleanly — that could be seen as a weakness in the story telling. Never the less, I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the other seven of his books that have been recently republished.
Thomson's career started almost absurdly: he quits college to become a farmer in America. But fortunately for mystery buffs, especially those, like myself, who enjoy stories from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, that only lasted a short while. He moved into government work, serving in Fiji and Tonga. He then read for the bar — and passed — but instead became a deputy governor in the prison system, eventually advancing to secretary of the Prison Commission.
After that experience, he became assistant commissioner "C" of London's Metropolitan Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department at New Scotland Yard. In 1919, while remaining assistant commissioner, he was appointed Director of Intelligence at the Home Office, in overall charge of every intelligence agency in the United Kingdom until he fell out with Prime Minister Lloyd George in 1921 and was asked to resign.
Could he write an entertaining, exciting, intelligent mystery story? I was not disappointed: this is probably one of the best police procedurals I have ever read!
Clear, concise and to the point, we are introduced to our main character, the lowly police constable Richardson, who while on duty one day, wonders how he could move quickly through the ranks to detective. He is called to an auto accident in which the victim soon dies, and during his investigation to find out why the man ran in front of vehicle, discovers a further death in the man's shop. That death is ruled a murder. Investigators take over the case and it seems that Richardson is no further along on career advancement.
Until he catches the attention of an investigative administrator who decides to give him a chance. And it is then that we see the sharp, quick wits that help Richardson move ahead to achieve his goals — and of course, help untangle the mystery set before Scotland Yard.
And as a procedural, we not only learn more about Richardson as the main character, because in this story it can be argued that he is one of a team, but the colleagues that he works with and whom teach him several things about being a detective. I've seen this in several very good modern works, including Ed McBain's 87th precinct series, but rarely in books that were written during the same period as Thomson wrote this series.
As Richardson learns, readers also learn, all the steps that the police must follow in their efforts to solve the crime, including using their wits to see through lies, misdirection and blind alleys. But those steps are shown in minimal detail, so that the story never gets bogged down. All along, the reader feels like he is a "fly on the wall" during the police discussions and, at least for myself, is always aware of the direction the police are heading in their investigation. This is the missing ingredient that I rarely find in many police procedures and it gives an additional punch of reality to the story. I suppose that only thing that is missing may be the disappointment of following a trail only to have it end up going nowhere. At least in this story they offer up potential false paths but never to the point of not considering everything.
I was never bored with this read. Indeed, I was eager to see what would be the final bit of evidence that would solve the crime. It was deeply satisfying when it did happen. I suppose that it wrapped up a bit too cleanly — that could be seen as a weakness in the story telling. Never the less, I really enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the other seven of his books that have been recently republished.
December 1, 2019
This is one of the very first ever police procedural crime novels written. It was published in 1933, at the end of the long and varied career of its author, Basil Thomson, who served in various important administrative positions, including the governor of Tonga, the governor of the prisons Dartmoor and Wormwood Scrubs, the head of the CID (Criminal Investigation Department, enforcement arm of British Military Intelligence) during WW1, the Director of Intelligence and the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. As such, Basil Thomson is a person of unique authority to write in such a crime fiction genre, and demands a respectful and careful read.
This was a well written first crime novel, the plot was watertight and the many characters described both interesting and appealing. The writing style was somewhat methodical and plodding, not unlike the the quintessential depiction of the typical British Policeman from this era. The emphasis in relating the story was on the way in which Scotland Yard and the greater policing services work as a team, all individuals having their important part to play in such an investigation. The police are shown to be men of high intelligence, confidence, patience and ability, who work methodically to achieve their ultimate goal of a fully watertight case to present to the police prosecutor.
Richardson, about whose adventures further novels are written in this series, is here discovered by the reader as an unusually intelligent, conscientious, ambitious and hardworking police constable on his first assignment on traffic point duty for the metropolitan police force. A chance accident while he is on the scene gives him his opportunity to be noticed by the higher ups in authority at his dream division, the CID. Richardson is not the hero in this story. His brilliance and quickness of intelligence and dedication are described and made use of in a way that gives him his chance to be promoted ahead of time. He plays his part, alongside a number of other police investigators who are expert in their individual roles and work cohesively as a group, certainly not a set of bumbling, egotistical fools that a private citizen investigator can run rings around as depicted in many popular crime novels from this era. The role of the private citizen investigator is taken by Guy Kennedy, who as friend of both one of the suspects and of the police legal advisor, Charles Morden, is in a unique position to illustrate the characters of some of the suspects and investigators with a more intimate hand, and also to move the plot along at times with some less systematic investigations, which he undertakes privately, but with the knowledge of the police.
The focus and purpose of the investigation of the murder is not primarily about identifying the criminal. As in many real life stories, the police in this story seem to have a very strong feeling for whom the guilty party is fairly early, but they do not allow themselves to act peremptorily on this understanding. The stated goal is to present the police prosecutor with a watertight case, with evidence and documentation that is irrefutable so that the criminal is not allowed to escape his fate through some legal technicality, and so result in both a miscarriage of justice and a waste of valuable public resources, not to mention frustration in lack of achievement by the members of the hardworking police force working on the crime.
I enjoyed the book: the style, the realistic portrayal of Scotland Yard, the characters and plot. Although there were some pacing issues in the book, in many ways I feel that it was a far more accurate depiction of the real process of police investigation than one finds in most of the other detective novels we read from this era, and as such a worthwhile read for fans of crime fiction. I actually enjoyed the teamwork and the collective efforts of the many different policemen involved in the investigation and the way that every single end was tied up before it was presented to the prosecution. I was talking the plot over with my Mum, and she related how that she had once sat on mandatory jury duty for a number of weeks. She said it was so frustrating because often all of the jury members as well as the police prosecutors knew that the crimes had been committed, but as there was no indisputable evidence, no irrefutable proof presented to obtain a guilty verdict, the alleged criminal was acquitted. In our justice system, modelled on the British, you are innocent until proven guilty. The jury members were forced by lack of evidence to give frustrated not-guilty verdicts. This relation increased my personal appreciation for a less fictionalised and sensationalised crime story, even if it did make for less exciting reading.
My greatest criticism was that there was an actual opportunity for Basil Thomson to have inserted a nail biting scenario both for the plot and the would be hero, P.C. Richardson during the final denouement. My frustration was very real when at the moment that Richardson is lying in wait in the cold and dark for the criminal to break we leave him. Instead of following this appealing scenario and its subsequent adventure in the first person, with Richardson as the apprehending officer, we are left to jitter at the end of a phone line awaiting news with another senior police officer, back at CID headquarters. The subsequent events are only related at secondhand, in the driest of (admirably factual) police accounts by P.C. Richardson on his return. At this point I could have screamed and thrown the book across the room. Why????? Could we not have left poor Divisional Detective Inspector Foster biting his nails and been granted the privilege of following that coming young constable Richardson on his first big assignment, as we had at other points in the story?
If I had been the editor I would have said "Excellent work, Thomson, a thoroughly plausible and enjoyable read! Now take that manuscript back home with you and rewrite the ending from the point of view of Richardson, not neglecting a single description of the atmosphere and emotion from your retelling in the first person, and you will have yourself a best seller that people will read for generations, instead of a series that has to be rediscovered in nearly a hundred years time and read only for the interest of posterity by golden era of crime buffs."
By the way, is there a good biography of Basil Thomson? Now that is a book I would love to read. The foreword biography by Martin Edwards was all too short, but the absolute best and most interesting thing I read in this book. I am now on the hunt for it as I'm sure it will be a fascinating read.
This was a well written first crime novel, the plot was watertight and the many characters described both interesting and appealing. The writing style was somewhat methodical and plodding, not unlike the the quintessential depiction of the typical British Policeman from this era. The emphasis in relating the story was on the way in which Scotland Yard and the greater policing services work as a team, all individuals having their important part to play in such an investigation. The police are shown to be men of high intelligence, confidence, patience and ability, who work methodically to achieve their ultimate goal of a fully watertight case to present to the police prosecutor.
Richardson, about whose adventures further novels are written in this series, is here discovered by the reader as an unusually intelligent, conscientious, ambitious and hardworking police constable on his first assignment on traffic point duty for the metropolitan police force. A chance accident while he is on the scene gives him his opportunity to be noticed by the higher ups in authority at his dream division, the CID. Richardson is not the hero in this story. His brilliance and quickness of intelligence and dedication are described and made use of in a way that gives him his chance to be promoted ahead of time. He plays his part, alongside a number of other police investigators who are expert in their individual roles and work cohesively as a group, certainly not a set of bumbling, egotistical fools that a private citizen investigator can run rings around as depicted in many popular crime novels from this era. The role of the private citizen investigator is taken by Guy Kennedy, who as friend of both one of the suspects and of the police legal advisor, Charles Morden, is in a unique position to illustrate the characters of some of the suspects and investigators with a more intimate hand, and also to move the plot along at times with some less systematic investigations, which he undertakes privately, but with the knowledge of the police.
The focus and purpose of the investigation of the murder is not primarily about identifying the criminal. As in many real life stories, the police in this story seem to have a very strong feeling for whom the guilty party is fairly early, but they do not allow themselves to act peremptorily on this understanding. The stated goal is to present the police prosecutor with a watertight case, with evidence and documentation that is irrefutable so that the criminal is not allowed to escape his fate through some legal technicality, and so result in both a miscarriage of justice and a waste of valuable public resources, not to mention frustration in lack of achievement by the members of the hardworking police force working on the crime.
I enjoyed the book: the style, the realistic portrayal of Scotland Yard, the characters and plot. Although there were some pacing issues in the book, in many ways I feel that it was a far more accurate depiction of the real process of police investigation than one finds in most of the other detective novels we read from this era, and as such a worthwhile read for fans of crime fiction. I actually enjoyed the teamwork and the collective efforts of the many different policemen involved in the investigation and the way that every single end was tied up before it was presented to the prosecution. I was talking the plot over with my Mum, and she related how that she had once sat on mandatory jury duty for a number of weeks. She said it was so frustrating because often all of the jury members as well as the police prosecutors knew that the crimes had been committed, but as there was no indisputable evidence, no irrefutable proof presented to obtain a guilty verdict, the alleged criminal was acquitted. In our justice system, modelled on the British, you are innocent until proven guilty. The jury members were forced by lack of evidence to give frustrated not-guilty verdicts. This relation increased my personal appreciation for a less fictionalised and sensationalised crime story, even if it did make for less exciting reading.
My greatest criticism was that there was an actual opportunity for Basil Thomson to have inserted a nail biting scenario both for the plot and the would be hero, P.C. Richardson during the final denouement. My frustration was very real when at the moment that Richardson is lying in wait in the cold and dark for the criminal to break we leave him. Instead of following this appealing scenario and its subsequent adventure in the first person, with Richardson as the apprehending officer, we are left to jitter at the end of a phone line awaiting news with another senior police officer, back at CID headquarters. The subsequent events are only related at secondhand, in the driest of (admirably factual) police accounts by P.C. Richardson on his return. At this point I could have screamed and thrown the book across the room. Why????? Could we not have left poor Divisional Detective Inspector Foster biting his nails and been granted the privilege of following that coming young constable Richardson on his first big assignment, as we had at other points in the story?
If I had been the editor I would have said "Excellent work, Thomson, a thoroughly plausible and enjoyable read! Now take that manuscript back home with you and rewrite the ending from the point of view of Richardson, not neglecting a single description of the atmosphere and emotion from your retelling in the first person, and you will have yourself a best seller that people will read for generations, instead of a series that has to be rediscovered in nearly a hundred years time and read only for the interest of posterity by golden era of crime buffs."
By the way, is there a good biography of Basil Thomson? Now that is a book I would love to read. The foreword biography by Martin Edwards was all too short, but the absolute best and most interesting thing I read in this book. I am now on the hunt for it as I'm sure it will be a fascinating read.
March 3, 2019
This Golden Age novel is more a forerunner of the police procedural than a classic mystery. When Mr Catchpool is fatally injured in a road accident, PC Richardson is on the spot. He goes to the injured man's shop and finds Mrs Catchpool (estranged from her husband for some time) strangled. The police must sift through alibis, checking times and dates, to piece together events and identify the culprit.
Basil Thomson had worked in the police and therefore brings his detailed knowledge of process to this novel. The hierarchy of the police force with its chain of command, the need to check all the legal implications when building a case for prosecution, and the legwork put in by junior officers are all clearly shown. The mystery itself is not so strong, and there are plenty of indications as to the likely culprit - the strength of the novel lies more in how the different strands of the investigation are painstakingly pulled together.
PC Richardson is bright and enthusiastic, and delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to a criminal investigation. As a junior officer, he has to take a rather backseat role while his superiors decide the strategy, but he shows that he has a good future ahead of him that we will follow in later books.
Basil Thomson had worked in the police and therefore brings his detailed knowledge of process to this novel. The hierarchy of the police force with its chain of command, the need to check all the legal implications when building a case for prosecution, and the legwork put in by junior officers are all clearly shown. The mystery itself is not so strong, and there are plenty of indications as to the likely culprit - the strength of the novel lies more in how the different strands of the investigation are painstakingly pulled together.
PC Richardson is bright and enthusiastic, and delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to a criminal investigation. As a junior officer, he has to take a rather backseat role while his superiors decide the strategy, but he shows that he has a good future ahead of him that we will follow in later books.
March 1, 2019
I enjoyed this book. It described the work of the police force of the time, showing how they worked and their structure. This was way before walkie-talkies, where everything was done by foot or occasional cabs,which must have added to the time it took for crimes to be investigated . As it deals with with the procedural working of the force, it differs greatly from other Golden Age books.
The author was Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, and also held many other positions within law enforcement, which are described in the prologue. I will probably read more in the series to see the progression of Richardson within the force.
The author was Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, and also held many other positions within law enforcement, which are described in the prologue. I will probably read more in the series to see the progression of Richardson within the force.
April 22, 2017
Three and a half stars.
Having read a couple of his other Richardson books out of sequence, I decided to start again at the beginning when he was just a constable on the beat. I'm pleased that I did and found this police procedural very enjoyable. Richardson is an engaging character and. I look forward to reading the rest of the series where I believe he achieves meteoric promotion and is Chief Constable by book seven.
Having read a couple of his other Richardson books out of sequence, I decided to start again at the beginning when he was just a constable on the beat. I'm pleased that I did and found this police procedural very enjoyable. Richardson is an engaging character and. I look forward to reading the rest of the series where I believe he achieves meteoric promotion and is Chief Constable by book seven.
May 15, 2017
I quite enjoyed this book. It is somewhat different and refreshing in that it focuses on the crime and solving the crime. I find some books go so heavy on the personal lives of the investigators, the mystery ends up being a back story. The writing is good and it is a quick light read and you can take the evidence presented, along with the interactions and start to piece things together along with the investigators. I will be reading more from this series.
November 14, 2016
In search of a detective as affable as Philip Trent, I found P.C. Richardson, whose innate detection skills move him swiftly through the ranks from a street officer on winter patrol in London to a plain clothes officer in the Criminal Investigation Department. Looking forward to other books in this series.
June 20, 2016
This is a thorough-going police procedural written from within the echelons of Scotland Yard, with a very sound plot but rather thin characterisation for the most part. I enjoyed it enough to buy another in the series: it does have a certain period charm.
September 19, 2019
This is one of the very first ever police procedural crime novels written. It was published in 1933, at the end of the long and varied career of its author, Basil Thomson, who served in various important administrative positions, including the governor of Tonga, the governor of the prisons Dartmoor and Wormwood Scrubs, the head of the CID (Criminal Investigation Department, enforcement arm of British Military Intelligence) during WW1, the Director of Intelligence and the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. As such, Basil Thomson is a person of unique authority to write in such a crime fiction genre, and demands a respectful and careful read.
This was a well written first crime novel, the plot was watertight and the many characters described both interesting and appealing. The writing style was somewhat methodical and plodding, not unlike the the quintessential depiction of the typical British Policeman from this era. The emphasis in relating the story was on the way in which Scotland Yard and the greater policing services work as a team, all individuals having their important part to play in such an investigation. The police are shown to be men of high intelligence, confidence, patience and ability, who work methodically to achieve their ultimate goal of a fully watertight case to present to the police prosecutor.
Richardson, about whose adventures further novels are written in this series, is here discovered by the reader as an unusually intelligent, conscientious, ambitious and hardworking police constable on his first assignment on traffic point duty for the metropolitan police force. A chance accident while he is on the scene gives him his opportunity to be noticed by the higher ups in authority at his dream division, the CID. Richardson is not the hero in this story. His brilliance and quickness of intelligence and dedication are described and made use of in a way that gives him his chance to be promoted ahead of time. He plays his part, alongside a number of other police investigators who are expert in their individual roles and work cohesively as a group, certainly not a set of bumbling, egotistical fools that a private citizen investigator can run rings around as depicted in many popular crime novels from this era. The role of the private citizen investigator is taken by Guy Kennedy, who as friend of both one of the suspects and of the police legal advisor, Charles Morden, is in a unique position to illustrate the characters of some of the suspects and investigators with a more intimate hand, and also to move the plot along at times with some less systematic investigations, which he undertakes privately, but with the knowledge of the police.
The focus and purpose of the investigation of the murder is not primarily about identifying the criminal. As in many real life stories, the police in this story seem to have a very strong feeling for whom the guilty party is fairly early, but they do not allow themselves to act peremptorily on this understanding. The stated goal is to present the police prosecutor with a watertight case, with evidence and documentation that is irrefutable so that the criminal is not allowed to escape his fate through some legal technicality, and so result in both a miscarriage of justice and a waste of valuable public resources, not to mention frustration in lack of achievement by the members of the hardworking police force working on the crime.
I enjoyed the book: the style, the realistic portrayal of Scotland Yard, the characters and plot. Although there were some pacing issues in the book, in many ways I feel that it was a far more accurate depiction of the real process of police investigation than one finds in most of the other detective novels we read from this era, and as such a worthwhile read for fans of crime fiction. I actually enjoyed the teamwork and the collective efforts of the many different policemen involved in the investigation and the way that every single end was tied up before it was presented to the prosecution. I was talking the plot over with my Mum, and she related how that she had once sat on mandatory jury duty for a number of weeks. She said it was so frustrating because often all of the jury members as well as the police prosecutors knew that the crimes had been committed, but as there was no indisputable evidence, no irrefutable proof presented to obtain a guilty verdict, the alleged criminal was acquitted. In our justice system, modelled on the British, you are innocent until proven guilty. The jury members were forced by lack of evidence to give frustrated not-guilty verdicts. This relation increased my personal appreciation for a less fictionalised and sensationalised crime story, even if it did make for less exciting reading.
My greatest criticism was that there was an actual opportunity for Basil Thomson to have inserted a nail biting scenario both for the plot and the would be hero, P.C. Richardson during the final denouement. My frustration was very real when at the moment that Richardson is lying in wait in the cold and dark for the criminal to break we leave him. Instead of following this appealing scenario and its subsequent adventure in the first person, with Richardson as the apprehending officer, we are left to jitter at the end of a phone line awaiting news with another senior police officer, back at CID headquarters. The subsequent events are only related at secondhand, in the driest of (admirably factual) police accounts by P.C. Richardson on his return. At this point I could have screamed and thrown the book across the room. Why????? Could we not have left poor Divisional Detective Inspector Foster biting his nails and been granted the privilege of following that coming young constable Richardson on his first big assignment, as we had at other points in the story?
If I had been the editor I would have said "Excellent work, Thomson, a thoroughly plausible and enjoyable read! Now take that manuscript back home with you and rewrite the ending from the point of view of Richardson, not neglecting a single description of the atmosphere and emotion from your retelling in the first person, and you will have yourself a best seller that people will read for generations, instead of a series that has to be rediscovered in nearly a hundred years time and read only for the interest of posterity by golden era of crime buffs."
By the way, is there a good biography of Basil Thomson? Now that is a book I would love to read. The foreword biography by Martin Edwards was all to short, but the absolute best and most interesting thing I read in this book. I am now on the hunt for it as I'm sure it will be a fascinating read.
This was a well written first crime novel, the plot was watertight and the many characters described both interesting and appealing. The writing style was somewhat methodical and plodding, not unlike the the quintessential depiction of the typical British Policeman from this era. The emphasis in relating the story was on the way in which Scotland Yard and the greater policing services work as a team, all individuals having their important part to play in such an investigation. The police are shown to be men of high intelligence, confidence, patience and ability, who work methodically to achieve their ultimate goal of a fully watertight case to present to the police prosecutor.
Richardson, about whose adventures further novels are written in this series, is here discovered by the reader as an unusually intelligent, conscientious, ambitious and hardworking police constable on his first assignment on traffic point duty for the metropolitan police force. A chance accident while he is on the scene gives him his opportunity to be noticed by the higher ups in authority at his dream division, the CID. Richardson is not the hero in this story. His brilliance and quickness of intelligence and dedication are described and made use of in a way that gives him his chance to be promoted ahead of time. He plays his part, alongside a number of other police investigators who are expert in their individual roles and work cohesively as a group, certainly not a set of bumbling, egotistical fools that a private citizen investigator can run rings around as depicted in many popular crime novels from this era. The role of the private citizen investigator is taken by Guy Kennedy, who as friend of both one of the suspects and of the police legal advisor, Charles Morden, is in a unique position to illustrate the characters of some of the suspects and investigators with a more intimate hand, and also to move the plot along at times with some less systematic investigations, which he undertakes privately, but with the knowledge of the police.
The focus and purpose of the investigation of the murder is not primarily about identifying the criminal. As in many real life stories, the police in this story seem to have a very strong feeling for whom the guilty party is fairly early, but they do not allow themselves to act peremptorily on this understanding. The stated goal is to present the police prosecutor with a watertight case, with evidence and documentation that is irrefutable so that the criminal is not allowed to escape his fate through some legal technicality, and so result in both a miscarriage of justice and a waste of valuable public resources, not to mention frustration in lack of achievement by the members of the hardworking police force working on the crime.
I enjoyed the book: the style, the realistic portrayal of Scotland Yard, the characters and plot. Although there were some pacing issues in the book, in many ways I feel that it was a far more accurate depiction of the real process of police investigation than one finds in most of the other detective novels we read from this era, and as such a worthwhile read for fans of crime fiction. I actually enjoyed the teamwork and the collective efforts of the many different policemen involved in the investigation and the way that every single end was tied up before it was presented to the prosecution. I was talking the plot over with my Mum, and she related how that she had once sat on mandatory jury duty for a number of weeks. She said it was so frustrating because often all of the jury members as well as the police prosecutors knew that the crimes had been committed, but as there was no indisputable evidence, no irrefutable proof presented to obtain a guilty verdict, the alleged criminal was acquitted. In our justice system, modelled on the British, you are innocent until proven guilty. The jury members were forced by lack of evidence to give frustrated not-guilty verdicts. This relation increased my personal appreciation for a less fictionalised and sensationalised crime story, even if it did make for less exciting reading.
My greatest criticism was that there was an actual opportunity for Basil Thomson to have inserted a nail biting scenario both for the plot and the would be hero, P.C. Richardson during the final denouement. My frustration was very real when at the moment that Richardson is lying in wait in the cold and dark for the criminal to break we leave him. Instead of following this appealing scenario and its subsequent adventure in the first person, with Richardson as the apprehending officer, we are left to jitter at the end of a phone line awaiting news with another senior police officer, back at CID headquarters. The subsequent events are only related at secondhand, in the driest of (admirably factual) police accounts by P.C. Richardson on his return. At this point I could have screamed and thrown the book across the room. Why????? Could we not have left poor Divisional Detective Inspector Foster biting his nails and been granted the privilege of following that coming young constable Richardson on his first big assignment, as we had at other points in the story?
If I had been the editor I would have said "Excellent work, Thomson, a thoroughly plausible and enjoyable read! Now take that manuscript back home with you and rewrite the ending from the point of view of Richardson, not neglecting a single description of the atmosphere and emotion from your retelling in the first person, and you will have yourself a best seller that people will read for generations, instead of a series that has to be rediscovered in nearly a hundred years time and read only for the interest of posterity by golden era of crime buffs."
By the way, is there a good biography of Basil Thomson? Now that is a book I would love to read. The foreword biography by Martin Edwards was all to short, but the absolute best and most interesting thing I read in this book. I am now on the hunt for it as I'm sure it will be a fascinating read.
March 7, 2019
I found it very enjoyable and plan to read the other books in the series. A solid police procedural, with no POVs of the suspects to muddy the waters! The way a lowly probationary PC is able to add to the investigation, though slightly unrealistic, is very enjoyable. He has insights, finds witnesses and gets information out of them. This is a form of detective work not usually emphasized in detective fiction.
It is unfortunate that there are only seven more books in the series.
It is unfortunate that there are only seven more books in the series.
December 17, 2017
Questa recensione è presente anche sul blog-> https://thebooksblender.altervista.or...
- Ho ricevuto una copia di questo libro in cambio di un'onesta recensione -
P.C. Richardon è un semplice poliziotto da poco nella divisione ‘D’, sporco di fango e mézzo di pioggia, in servizio su Baker Street.
Sebbene sia entrato da poco in polizia, le sue ambizioni sono già alte: entrare nel Dipartimento Investigativo Criminale dove il vitto è più scarso, le ore più lunghe... ma il lavoro sicuramente più vario e interessante.
Insomma, Richardson è immerso in questi pensieri, quando assiste a un incidente stradale: un uomo, sbucato dal nulla, si getta in strada e l’autista dell’auto non può far nulla per evitare l’impatto.
In questa tragedia, però, si nasconde qualcosa di strano. Poche ore dopo, infatti, la moglie - anzi ex moglie - dell'uomo viene ritrovata strangola nel negozio d'antiquariato del marito.
Il negozio è chiuso con l'unica chiave esistente - quella dell'uomo; non ritrovata però sul cadavere di quest'ultimo; inoltre, la donna pare essere stata uccisa prima del marito.
Quindi... è stato l'uomo che, in preda ai sensi di colpa per l'omicidio della ex compagnia, si è gettato nel traffico scegliendo la morte? Ma, se così fosse, la chiave del negozio dov'è finita?
Giallo in stile classico quello di Thomson. Si inizia, infatti, con un apparentemente "innocuo" incidente stradale per vedersi poi intricare la vicenda con eredità contese, misteri da svelare, figuri spocchiosi e supponenti.
Una manciata di elementi concorrono a rendere la morte del nostro uomo sospetta fin dall'inizio e, assieme al nostro Richardson, anche noi lettori iniziamo ad avere i primi dubbi (... che l'incidente stradale occorso non sia solo un semplice incidente?).
Tuttavia, Richardson ci abbandona per tutta la prima metà del libro, lasciandoci nelle mani di un pool di colleghi alle prese con scartoffie, scommesse e giornalisti ficcanaso (e, per la cronaca, vedersi sparire così l'intestatario del romanzo, risulta un po' strano).
Ritornerà solo più tardi, quando i superiori decideranno di metterlo alla prova con il caso (di cui, comunque, si occuperà in maniera marginale).
I colleghi affidatari dell'intrattenimento del lettore (Sir William - capo del Dipartimento Investigativo Criminale, Foster, Beckett e altri) rappresentano la classica figura da poliziotto inglese: un equilibrato mix di fiuto, english aplomb e paziente ricerca e valutazione delle prove.
Sotto questi punti di vista, si avverte chiaramente come l'autore provenga a sua volta da un ambiente poliziesco (Basil Thomson fu, infatti, ufficiale dell'intelligence britannica e di polizia e diresse proprio il Dipartimento Investigativo Criminale) ed è impossibile non avvertire un certo meticoloso realismo nelle indagini e nei passaggi più pratici di un'indagine.
Tolto questo plaudibile elemento di realismo, la trama tuttavia risulta molto lineare: gli elementi sono esposti con precisa asetticità; i colpi di scena introdotti senza troppo clamore.
I personaggi sono essenzialmente una manciata di nomi e stoica presenza "poliziottesca".
Dalle dimensione di un racconto, Un misterioso incidente è un libretto interessante per comprendere le dinamiche interne a una delle polizie più famose nel mondo nella prima metà del Novecento, ma come romanzo non riesce completamente a colpire l'interesse del lettore.
May 19, 2021
#1 in Basil Thomson's Inspector Richardson series, originally published in 1933. This edition is a recent publication with an introduction by Martin Edwards. As my Dad would have said, a young whipper-snapper shows what he's worth! Classic Golden Age mystery.
What a delightful read! A thoroughly devious case to unravel but Richardson shows his drive and ability, without being a show off. It was fun to see how the different members of the police team came together to figure out a most difficult puzzle. Which of two people, both who died, died first? They had been married, they divorced, and the will left everything to the heir of the one who died last. Not so long, no messing about, and more than enough to unravel to get to the answer. I will read all eight of them in between my new books coming out over the summer.
[By he way, I did not read he Kindle Edition of this book, only the ebook. Goodreads refuses to delete that entry despite all my efforts to do so! I will be super vigilant in the future!]
What a delightful read! A thoroughly devious case to unravel but Richardson shows his drive and ability, without being a show off. It was fun to see how the different members of the police team came together to figure out a most difficult puzzle. Which of two people, both who died, died first? They had been married, they divorced, and the will left everything to the heir of the one who died last. Not so long, no messing about, and more than enough to unravel to get to the answer. I will read all eight of them in between my new books coming out over the summer.
[By he way, I did not read he Kindle Edition of this book, only the ebook. Goodreads refuses to delete that entry despite all my efforts to do so! I will be super vigilant in the future!]
October 1, 2015
Sir Basil Thomson was, among other things, head of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Division for eight years. So I was prepared to find that he couldn't write worth a damn, and surprised to learn that he could turn out a smooth police procedural. This is the first book in which he follows Richardson's career up the ladder to higher office. Although Richardson is a humble police constable, he keeps alert, and is allowed to help investigate the mysterious murder of an antique dealer's estranged wife, at almost the same time as her husband is killed in a traffic accident right in front of Richardson.
June 4, 2018
I picked this up for 99p from Amazon after seeing one of the later books in the series being promoted on Twitter. Regular readers of my reviews will know that I love Golden Age crime stories and am often looking for new options and forgotten authors to read. And this was a good buy. The story is intriguing - an estranged couple murdered on the same day and the inheritance of the husband's property turning on who died first - and the characters are good too. I did have my suspicions about the culprit from early on (and I was right) but that isn't hugely unusual for me either. If the others in this series are still 99p, I'll be trying some more of them!
February 18, 2017
The writing is fairly old-fashioned but it moves on at a cracking pace, there is no wasting words on the flaws of detectives, their lonely home lives, the secrets in their past or the dangers to their own beings that the investigations may lead to. For that one has to be grateful.
A money lender is knocked down and killed in a street accident. His last word as he rushed across the road implied he was going to fetch a policeman. But who was he shouting at and why was his estranged wife later found dead in his shop?
An interesting book from the golden age of crime writing.
A money lender is knocked down and killed in a street accident. His last word as he rushed across the road implied he was going to fetch a policeman. But who was he shouting at and why was his estranged wife later found dead in his shop?
An interesting book from the golden age of crime writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2018
Another crime story from a classic (Golden Age) British author. Instead of a private detective that's a genius who leaves the police behind, this is a book written by a former British intelligence officer, head of C.I.D. at Scotland Yard. With this background it doesn't surprise us that the investigation is led by policemen and follows a step-by-step method that seems more real to us. Nice to see a change in pattern.
July 31, 2021
A fairly good British mystery featuring detectives from Scotland Yard in the early part of the 20th century. However, the story suffers from an abundance of characters that I found hard to keep straight, with most of them lacking personalities. It was a bit like a turn of the century police procedural.
April 24, 2018
This is a fine read, especially since none of the cops are suffering from any of the usual trauma eg broken marriages, drug-addiction or psychological damage as seems to be the norm in procedurals. They're just hard working and clever. The spice here is courtesy of the secondary characters who carry quite a bit of the story line - and do it well.
June 13, 2018
Trying to find a series as interesting and well written as George Bellairs' wonderful series on Thomas Littlejohn of Scotland Yard in the 40s and 50s. Inspector Riharedson was quite interesting but doesn't match Bellairs wonderfully descriptive writing and get-to-the-point narrative.
However, I'm pretty sure I will give him another chance as long as the price stays decent.
However, I'm pretty sure I will give him another chance as long as the price stays decent.
December 5, 2016
good hunting, too easy a solution
The main two officers are smart and do some great detecting. but in the end it is a confession easily given. I have read that guilty parties do often just blurt it out, but...
The main two officers are smart and do some great detecting. but in the end it is a confession easily given. I have read that guilty parties do often just blurt it out, but...
June 13, 2017
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
December 11, 2017
The plot was a bit thin but I enjoyed the detail of the police investigation.
Will persevere with the series to see if the plots improve over time.
Will persevere with the series to see if the plots improve over time.
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