"There was a Crooked Man"

Inspector Harry Charlton #13

by George Worthing Yates

”There was a Crooked Man” , first published in 1936, is a classic “golden-age” murder mystery by George Worthing Yates (1901-1975), a prominent Hollywood screenwriter, mostly of science-fiction. Publisher's The corpse lay huddled in the rain on a terrace outside the executive offices of the Chelsac Theatre. The evening clothes were faultless, but the body had been horribly mutilated—years before. Who was the crooked man? Christien, the managing director of the theatre, had never seen the man before … Percy Tussard, of the police, set to work on the case. And close on his heels came ancient and autocratic Lord Broghville. He threw the weight of his years, his influence, his impressive dignity and his immense intelligence into the search for the murderer ... “There Was a Crooked Man” adds to the ranks of amateur detectives a new one you cannot fail to take to your heart—the lonely and tremendous, the ancient and august Lord Broghville. You will meet him again in other mysteries by Mr. Yates — mysteries which, like this one, combine rich characterization with surprise and ingenuity of situation and unusual charm of style.

Genres: Mystery

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would say this is more a 3 1/2 star. This is a shorter book, 214 pages. We start the story on the "night" of the murder seeing a number of people who will be involved in the investigation. One who is a loud mouth and not such a good hider and another one would think was obvious to identify but doesn't get identified until later. Then there is the victim who is a man of many colors! Just when you think you know what kind of person he is- things change.

Insp. Bradford leads the investigation, and there are various other police (of various ranks) that get involved as well- but you don't get lost in all the names. This impressed me a lot as this is not always the case. A more irksome writing pastiche, is the "phonetic" dialogue for the "locals" who have a thick English accent. But I can't tell you which one it is. I find this really just slows things down. And at times, I can't figure out what is being said without reading twice.

The uptick is that the story which has a slightly slow start, forms well at the middle and moves as Bradford unravel clues and get information- The end was satisfying.

This was written in the 1960's according to this book- feels like it too with fashion and language. Will see about finding other stories by this author, who I think may have some reprints of work created, or will.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A police procedural from 1960, centered around the murder of "Crooked Charlie" Kendrick. Not only does the handyman live in unexpectedly luxurious surroundings, it seems that on the night of the murder he was expecting several visits from people he had summoned with the promise of a good story and/or financial benefits. The police have to sort through the victim's double life, as well as the comings and goings in the lanes around the property where Charlie was murdered. The solution to the mystery is not totally fair to the reader, but it was an enjoyable book, nevertheless.

[Puzzle Doctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Full review at classicmystery.blog