Excellent Intentions

by Richard Hull, Martin Edwards (Introduction)

Great Barwick’s least popular man is murdered on a train. Twelve jurors sit in court. Four suspects are identified - but which of them is on trial?

This novel has all the makings of a classic murder mystery, but with a twist: as Attorney-General Anstruther Blayton leads the court through prosecution and defence, Inspector Fenby carries out his investigation. All this occurs while the identity of the figure in the dock is kept tantalisingly out of reach.

Excellent Intentions is a classic crime novel laced with irreverent wit, first published in 1938.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Classics, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Historical

207 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Richard Henry Sampson FCA (6 September 1896 – 1973), known by the pseudonym Richard Hull, was a British writer who became successful as a crime novelist with his first book in 1934.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_...

Note: At least two other authors with the same name: Richard Hull-illustrator & Richard Hull-non-fiction

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Londoner Henry Cargate was the new owner of Scotney End Hall. He was a despicable man. The villagers were delighted when he was murdered. The story commences with the accused standing in the dock. Judge Trefusis Smith has issued the following statement. "...Gentlemen of the jury, it is not permitted to murder even the most wicked of men". Smith, retiring after this case, hopes to encourage the jurors to agree with his mindset. Who is the accused? We are not privy to this information. As the trial unfolds, clues will present themselves to the jury and the reader.

Why would Henry Cargate settle in Scotney End Hall, a mansion secreted in a small village? He had disdain for Mr. Hardy the baker and ordered his bread from London. He had contempt for local practitioner Dr. Gardiner. He would only trust medical advisers from London. Rather than hire staff from the village, he hired outsiders. Cargate purchased poison( potassium cyanide) from Great Barwick, not from a local chemist, in order to rid his garden of wasp nests. Snuff for occasional use was purchased from Piccadilly Circus.

Henry Cargate died in a railway train between Larkingfield and Great Barwick stations, likely, a murder by poisoning. His snuff box was found on the train. Was the snuff laced with poison? The question became one of motive and opportunity. Inspector Fenby, a low key but capable fellow whittled the list down to four suspects. Fenby investigated, Anstuther Blayton prosecuted. Slowly, the murderer was unmasked. Cargate's life goal was "to do nobody any good". His death would not be mourned by the villagers.

"Excellent Intentions" by Richard Hull was written in 1938 during the Golden Age of Crime. Prosecutor Blayton was giving his opening statements to the jury at the trial when the mystery novel began. The action seamlessly alternated between investigation, witness questioning, judge's summary and jury deliberations...who dunnit? A fun, very entertaining read from the British Library Crime Classic series.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Excellent Intentions".

[Helga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Cargate is the new owner of Scotney End Hall and is disliked by everyone in the village and by some in London.
Therefore nobody is shocked to learn he has been murdered. In fact, a few breathe a sigh of relief.
There are 4 distinct suspects. 4 Alibis. 4 motives. Who is guilty? Who is capable of murder?

Excellent intentions is an unusual murder/mystery. The story begins in a courtroom by the prosecution’s opening statement. We know who the victim is. We know how he was murdered. What we do not know, is the identity of the accused.
Yes! You heard me right! We don’t know who is standing in the dock till the very end of the story.

Unfortunately I had never heard of Richard Hull. What i really liked was his style of writing and his unusual approach to solving the mystery.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and the NetGalley for providing me with a copy.

[Mayke ☕️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was kindly provided to me by Edelweiss.

I wasn't a big fan of this book. Murder cases are something that I very much enjoy reading about, but this was so immensely tough to get through. Even with only 198 pages. All the chapters were so long-winded, that I found myself skipping words and sentences a lot. The books talks about the case of the murder of an unpopular man, and we follow the development of the case and trial. There are 7 parts:
1. Prosecution
2. Investigation
3. Analysis
4. Defence
5. Summing up
6. Verdict
7. Conclusion

The first 2 chapters are tediously long, filling up almost 70 percent of the whole book. The analysis was so factual, just pointing out the facts of the case. The rest of the chapters were easier to read, but didn't add to my satisfaction. Unfortunately not for me.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea, but the execution was just too convoluted.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henry Cargate, a narcissistic, unscrupulous misanthrope, newly moved to Scotney End Hall, has managed to alienate virtually every single villager in Scotney End, most of his staff and even the kindly vicar, Reverend Yockleton. The novel begins after Cargate was murdered on a train with a courtroom drama. But while we get looks at the various witnesses at this trial, the defendant’s identity remains a secret until nearly the end. In effect, author Richard Hull turns the novel on its head with the trial coming before the investigation.

Hull pioneered this trick in 1938, which was emulated as recently as 2017’s Glass Houses by Louise Penny. I was deeply curious as to who — amongst so many who were tempted — poisoned the vile Cargate. British Library reissued Hull’s humorous debut novel, The Murder of My Aunt, as well as Excellent Intentions, although its tone was considerably more somber. However, the surprising ending doesn’t make up for how often the novel drags, in sharp contrast with The Murder of My Aunt.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

DAME AGATHA CHRISTIE AND HER PEERS
This appears to be 'high concept', but is it really just a restructure? In the introduction (by Martin Edwards), Jorge Luis Borges says, " Richard Hull has written an extremely pleasant book...his irony civilized." Agreed, "irony civilized."
CAST - 3 stars: Anstruther Blayton, age 52, struts his stuff from the opening paragraphs. He's gonna lead the jury right down a particular path. But Mr. Justice Smith, Judge, is famous for swaying juries. Blayton and the Judge might be on a collision course. Henry Cargate, universally disliked, dies in the opening chapter. "From the point of view of the nation, it's a good thing he died," writes Hull, quote appearing on back cover. Cargate has a bad heart (literally), but then there is an issue of poison. Even Vicar Yockleton doesn't like Cargate because Cargate thinks his church has interesting architecture and nothing else to offer. Hardy Hall is thrilled at the entire adventure: he is the gardener at Cargate's Scotney End Hall, and has access to poisons. There is Mr. Vernon and Mr. Oliver as the defense lawyers: we only know their names. There's a porter at the station, Jim, but all we know is that he has a dog. There are, after all, a lot of bad people in the world. More 'bad-Cargate' and more 'good-dog-who-knew-much' would have improved the cast for me. Anyone remember the O.J. Simpson trial? The conflict between the prosecutors, Judge Ito, and the defense lawyers was a...trainwreck, sadly. Here, so much could have been done with Blayton's over-confidence vs Justice Smith, a judge who may have already decided the case.
ATMOSPHERE - 2: True, there are roses (various types) and a "long herbaceous border, the last of the lupins and delphiniums lingered, and the hollyhocks stood tall..." But we're in England, so of course there are gardens. And, naturally, poisons here and there. Cargate's house has a library, drawing room, and a main hall (of course). A diagram would have been nice: I had to draw my own to understand sight lines, movements, etc. (Oddly, my diagram indicates a rather ornate staircase a bit hidden from the front door, and that's usually the showcase of an entry hall: either than or a picture of the Queen...or the newest King...or a garden.) This floor plan element is so simple to do: I've seen uneven lines, perhaps just scratchings by an author, providing rooms and halls and entrances and exits. An interesting mid-section concerning stamps (hey, always nice to learn new things!) is a tad too long (word count ploy?). For me, the very best stories must be located in a specific place, at a specific time, with maybe specific clothing fashions (to hide murder weapons, natch.. Here, we just need that garden. Or really, a couple of rose bushes. Why, even the murder itself didn't need to be on a train. I didn't much get a sense of tension either. It felt as if the characters had acted out this plot one too many times on stage.
PLOT - 4 stars: Initially, this does appear to be 'high concept': the novel opens with the trial itself. But the person accused of the murder isn't named until almost the end of the story. Now, isn't that the way most murder mysteries are laid out: the accused/perhaps guilty party isn't named until that very part of the story? Thus, we have simply a restructured story. It is an interesting concept, certainly, and enjoyable. You may or may not have named the accused by this juncture, but when the author does, there is still the jury deliberation. Overall, this is a 3-star murder mystery, but I'm giving this an extra .5 star for an original construction, and another .5 star for a final, ironic, twist alluded to by Borges in the introduction.
INVESTIGATION - 4: The trial itself is integrated with flashbacks to Inspector Fenby's investigation, Dr. Gardiner's certification of death, etc. Again, it's nicely done and I never noticed an interruption in flow: I always knew if I was in the courtroom, on the train, in the house, etc. BUT, all in all, it's a standard introduction restructured for originality.
RESOLUTION - 4: All loose ends are tied up. The jury deliberation, especially by the foreman, is very good. Has the jury been overly directed to a conclusion by the judge? And then, the verdict is read...but that's not the end of the story.
SUMMARY - 3.4 stars. Yes, this novel works as an original construction. The cast could be stronger, certainly: added conflicts and motivations would have been nice. But it's a good read, a fun one. And I gotta say "Excellent Intentions" is a perfect title!

[Cathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s always fun to see what mysteries are selected for the British Library Crime Classics series. A miserable, boor of a man dies in a railway car. Whether he was poisoned or he had a heart attack is the question—and the mystery plods along. I wanted to like the mystery—but the characters were so flat and the plot so dry that I found it a chore to finish. I appreciate that it had a few unusual features for a mystery of its time, so that’s the primary reason for my rating.

[Yibbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never read a mystery formatted like this one. It took me a while to figure out just what was going on. It starts in the courtroom with the opening arguments of the prosecution and the thoughts of the judge, then moves on to the witness’s testimony. That’s where it got a bit confusing. It jumps back and tells, in minute detail, what happened when the ‘least popular man’ drops dead on a train. We learn all about everyone’s thoughts, words, and actions. Then it goes back to the courtroom for a little bit and then jumps back to Police investigations. Once you get used to following the jumps, it makes a really interesting format.
Despite the setting being in a courtroom, we are never told who is on trial till the very end. I did figure it out, but just when the author wanted me to, so just at the very point Inspector Fenby also figures it out. Oh, all the clues were there in plain sight; I didn’t put them together till he has sorted out all the red herrings. It was really a very fun read.
The last chapter was not precisely to my liking though. I thought it was the weakest part of the whole book. It really has nothing to do with the mystery or the solution, and could easily have been left out. I guess it was just Hull’s attempt to make us feel better.
I remember one curse word and have a vague feeling that there was another one somewhere, but I’m not certain about that. There was no sex even vaguely hinted at. There were no affairs. It was just a good clean murder mystery. I would recommend it to everyone.
I received this as a free ARC through NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. No favorable review was required. It was my pleasure to share my honest opinions.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Excellent Intentions" is a mystery set in England and originally published in 1938. The novel started at the opening of a trial and then had flashback descriptions of events as seen by various witnesses and the detective. The reader isn't told who is on trial until the end, but everyone is sure that the accused is guilty.

This is a clue-based puzzle mystery. There were only four main suspects, and I quickly narrowed it down to two based on the same reasoning that the characters followed later in the story. The evidence seemed to point toward one character, so I reasoned out a scenario for that character. But that seemed too obvious, so I came up with a scenario that worked for the other one. We don't learn the final evidence that determines whodunit until after the characters have essentially revealed who the accused is.

There was no sex. There was only a couple uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing story, unusual characters, unusual format--switching between the current moment and the past --that could have been clunky or confusing but instead worked seamlessly. Loved the humor and the slow revelation!

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Snuffed out...

Henry Cargate has offended just about everyone who has had anything to do with him, so when he takes a huge pinch of snuff unaware it’s been laced with potassium cyanide and dies, really anyone could be a suspect. But a person has been charged with the crime and is now about to be tried. As the lawyer for the prosecution lays out the investigation and evidence for the jury, the reader is invited to tag along. But unlike the jury, the reader is not told the identity of the accused until the end.

This is a rather fun conceit, where most of the story is therefore told in flashback through the eyes of the various people called to give evidence at the trial. Although the whole world had a motive (if being deeply unpleasant is a good enough reason to be murdered, that is), the poison that was mixed with the snuff was only accessible at certain very limited times in Cargate’s own study, so the actual pool of suspects is quite limited.

I’ve had a great run with these British Library Crime Classics recently, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped. I’d read and loved Hull’s other entry, The Murder of My Aunt , so had high expectations for this one. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the book. It’s just that it depends almost entirely on timing and alibis to discover who could have had access to the poison, and that’s never my favourite kind of crime book. I know loads of people love to try to beat the detective in this kind of puzzle, but my tastes don’t run in that direction. I prefer books that concentrate on characterisation and motives rather than on means and opportunity. I’m afraid as the detective began to make lists of who could have been in a corridor at a specific four-minute period, or calculate whether it would be possible for someone to be seen from a certain angle through a door and so on, my eyes glazed over. I didn’t know, but what was worse, I didn’t care. I eventually began to skip whole pages, though I tuned in again in time for the solution and the rather enjoyable twist in the tail.

This is very definitely a subjective criticism – a case of wrong reader, wrong book. The quality of the writing is good, there are enough touches of humour to make it entertaining rather than grim and I’m pretty sure all the alibi stuff is very clever. So if that’s the type of puzzle that intrigues you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the book far more than I did. But sadly, not my cup of tea... 2 ½ stars for me, so rounded up.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enter the courtroom for the trial of the murder of the odious Mr. Carthgate. He made enemies practically wherever he went and therefore the potential list of murderers is at first daunting. As the case is laid out by the prosecution and defense, readers are occasionally taken back to the scene of the crime, a train station, and the victim’s house the day before as witnesses share their memories. But it is not until the very end of the book that readers get to find out who exactly was chosen to be accused with the crime.

I felt quite pleased that I caught on to all the relevant pieces of evidence and figured out who was on trial before it was revealed. It was just enough that I didn’t feel like they handed it to you on a silver platter, but it was there for the noticing if you were paying attention. The method of telling the story is certainly very unique for the original release date. Now it is much more common to see murder mysteries told through the trial, but this was one of the originals. It takes some careful reading to catch on to when flashbacks start or when we are given access to certain characters’ internal thoughts (it would transfer splendidly to TV though). I did like the flashback parts the most. The prosecutor, as the judge is also annoyed to notice, is much too full of himself and tries too hard to wax eloquent. So listening to him talk about things was frequently eye-roll-inducing and I was happy to get away from him and get some straightforward storytelling. The ending of this one reminds me just the tiniest bit of Murder on the Orient Express. And no, I’m not going to tell you which aspect. I’ll just say it is a very tiny similarity, so don’t expect complete parallels to Murder on the Orient Express. This is definitely its own story. Probably the most impressive thing was the skillful writing so that there wasn’t even a hint as to who the accused was until the author wanted you to know. It would’ve made his life much easier to tell that at the beginning, but not telling you allows the reader to weigh all the evidence and come to your own conclusions as to who most likely did it. If you like courtroom based mysteries and artful storytelling, give this old mystery by one of the original Detective Club members a try.

Notes on content: No language issues that I remember (at most 1 or 2 minor swearwords). No sexual content. One non-gory murder and no other violence.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reading! This is the best of the four Hull novels I have read recently.

It displays an unbeatable combination of good writing, fair clueing, light satire and an ending with a slight twist- the twist is clued obliquely in the British title and more obviously in the US one.

Everyone in this book, including the murderer and victim, thinks that they act with the very best of intentions. The cast of suspects is limited and, given the evidence, any one of them has motive. The vital point here is opportunity and although I am not usually a great fan of Golden Age solutions which are down to close timetabling, this one did hold my interest and was convincing. There was one other major pointer to the culprit.

Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Richard Hull's style but, seriously, I totally had to read the ending twice because I couldn't tell what happened AT ALL. Now, I'm not sure if it's vague really or it was too late at night or something similar - all I can tell you is I was legit lost. Does this reflect poorly on the book itself? As I say, I'm not sure; this could have been my fault as maybe I wasn't reading as closely as the book warranted, but I do offer this criticism as a caution for future readers. Don't let your mind wander! Focus in! A recommend even if it made me feel like a bit of a dum dum.

I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Louise d'Abadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my copy of this book! This story is different from other Golden Age mysteries for a number of reasons. Firstly, it starts with a trial for murder, but you have no idea who’s the one being persecuted. Secondly, the court setting is different from other books from the same genre, and the focus given to the judge’s thoughts and manners is really unique. I found the story original without leaving the whodunnit atmosphere of book written at that same time. It’s a pleasant and enjoyable read.

[Yorky Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a good concept. You go through the book alternating between the court case, the events leading upto the murder and then the investigation. All the while you dont know who is actually in the box charged with the crime. Excellent idea I just found the writing a little bland and I struggled to get through bits without the urge to skim.

[Margaret Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully 'fair' crime/trial book. The reader, if they follow the text closely will be able to deduce the identity of the murderer yet that does not change the fact that the book takes an unexpected turn towards the end.

[BookishSteph1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 atars

[Les Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book after all the praise given it in the reviews. Might be worth a little more than 2 but not good enough for 3.

[Lou Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good solid story of poisoning, with most of the action focused on the trial of one of the suspects...but you don't find out who until the last few pages. Felt a bit drawn out, but overall I liked it.

[Jay Maxfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what I have read about Richard Hull - he was an experimentalist in crime fiction writing - exploring many different sub genres and writing styles. In this novel - Hull has set the whole book around the court proceedings of an un-named suspect (who remains so almost until the end) who is suspected of killing Mr. Cargate a wealthy but misanthropic magnate whose life's ambitions where to upset and annoy as many people as possible - even by his Will he left everything to the Government so that they could waste the money and therefore it wouldn't benefit anyone. In between the court hearings we get instalments by Inspector Fenby in regards to how he inspected the case and how he came to the decision of whom to suspect.
I found this book for the first 25% a little confusing as it takes this amount of time to realise that Hull is switching back and forth between court scene and investigation scene - as it was unexpected and not immediately obvious what he was doing. So if you haven't read the book yet at least you are forewarned and know what to expect! I read from a Green Penguin edition and I will put the book taster below - so that I don't give away any spoilers.
I have only read one other novel - The Murder of my Aunt by Richard Hull which I throughly enjoyed as it was very humourously dark and was written in a readable inverted style (where you know what the crime is and who has (or will) commit it - almost from the start of the novel. I will have to admit I preferred this novel (Murder of My Aunt) to Excellent Intentions as Hull tends to lose his way about two thirds into this novel as it isn't easy to disguise who the accused is - in a court case that is being discussed for at least 50% of the time. Hull only achieves this by being somewhat tedious with his timing schedules (even more so than Freeman Wills Crofts!) - which tends to grate on the nerves in that part of the book. However saying all of the above - Hull knows how to write good prose and in the main it flows easily and his characters manage to lift themselves out of the wooden/cardboard cut-out state. His weakness in this novel was that at least four characters could have in reality murdered Mr Cargate - even the accused had little to no motive for killing him except that Cargate was exasperating and deliberately riled him - however Cargate hated everyone and it would have been a much more powerful novel had the motive been stronger. I would give this book 7 out of 10 and would say that it is worth reading so that you can see a totally different way of presenting a classical crime novel (and one with a nice twist at the end) - although I would recommend reading Murder of My Aunt first.
Book taster:
Henry Cargate was a most unlovable and unloving man, and it was hardly surprising that he should die unmourned. But the facts were facts - he had died by someone else's deliberate doing, and that someone else could not go unhung. So the sure process of the law was set in motion and finally someone was charged with murder. The suspense of this story is that we are not allowed even to suspect until the last pages who that someone is. Court scene and police investigation, although of course taking place at different stages, are so strung together in the narrative that we get a brisk sequence of events - but no hint of who it is that is standing in the dock. It might be the butler, the secretary, the gardener, even the Vicar, at an outside chance the stamp dealer with whom Cargate did business. Mr. Justice Smith was well aware that justice must take its course, but he was equally aware that even if the law is rigid - mercy can be exercised in more ways than one and it is he who gives the final ironic twist to this account.

[Eva Müller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review can also be found on my blog

If you ask my quite unofficial opinion, plenty of people richly deserve to be murdered
nowadays and far too few of them actually get bumped off.

The book is advertised as a crime novel that’s not (quite) like the other crime novels and at first, it is very unlike others. The book starts with the trial and we learn a few things about the judge, the prosecutor and the lawyer. But nothing about the person who’s on trial. They’re only referred to as ‘the accused’ or ‘the defendant’. Then the trial opens, and the first witness gets called: the man who saw the victim taking some snuff and then collapsing. First, he is questioned by a prosecutor who likes long words and run-on sentences, then by the defence who desperately tries to confuse the witness enough to make him doubt his memory – because if the things didn’t happen the way he described it would be advantageous for the defendant.

But then the novel takes a turn. The rest of the investigation isn’t told through the trial. The story jumps back, and we see the investigation unfold in a quite traditional manner: The inspector questions the suspects and reconstructs they day of the murder to figure out when the poison could have been put in the snuff-box. This investigation takes up most of the book and doesn’t read much different than any other ‘typical’ crime novel. The only difference is that there’s no big reveal of the culprit in the library. Instead, it jumps back to the trial and that’s where we learn who was the only person who could have poisoned the snuff and how the inspector figured it out.

It’s not that I’m complaining about that. With the prosecutor and his love for wordiness (I got traumatic flashbacks to reading The Moonstone from just the few pages) the whole story would have been near-unreadable if it was all told via the trial. But the blurb (and Martin Edward’s introduction) advertised quite aggressively how different the story is told in this book when, in reality, it is told quite normally and mostly just plays around with the chronology.

Will I read more by the author? Definitely. The story itself has a fair share of wit and humour. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that it’s a parody, but it doesn’t take itself completely seriously. There’s the victim who was horrible and hated everyone so much that he even wanted his money to go to a place where it did ‘the least amount of good’ and therefore decides to leave it to the state. The remaining characters aren’t quite as exaggerated but there’s still a bumbling vicar, a hyper-competent assistant, an ominous butler and a stupid gardener.

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herbert Cargate is a very unpleasant man. He is also soon to be poisoned on a train in the English countryside in Excellent Intentions.

Starting a murder case at the end, in the courtroom trying to prove a mysterious person’s guilt, is an unusual plot structure. Published in 1938, fifteen years before Agatha Christie’s more famous courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution, Excellent Intentions also uses a courtroom setting to obscure the face of a murderer. While I enjoyed the change, it did make playing armchair detective much more difficult. The point of view makes quick jumps between people and time periods. The author uses excessive and mostly meaningless detail as a red herring. The effect is rather like jet lag. Eventually, you are resigned to it and are just reading to find out whodunnit.

Excellent Intentions is an interesting golden-age British curiosity. However, it doesn’t work very well as a mystery. Therefore, it is recommended only for readers interested in the historical underpinnings of mysteries. It would be an unusual structure for a modern mystery writer to use and improve upon. However, even with the unexpected twist at the end, I can’t recommend it to regular mystery readers. To those people, I recommend the much better example of the author’s work, Murder of my Aunt. Excellent Intentions is rated a scant 3 stars.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advance copy.

[Brian Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent whodunit murder mystery from the Golden Age of Murder, the period between the two world wars, and is set in the English countryside. The story is told within the structure of the courtroom trial of a person accused of killing a rather despicable man. Uniquely, the identity of the accused is not revealed until the end of the book so the reader faces a double mystery: who is the accused, and are they in fact the murderer? There are several potential suspects to consider during the course of the story and along the way readers learn about stamp collecting and rose gardening. Even after the trial has concluded and the jury has delivered its verdict, there's a surprising conclusion to the story. It's a satisfying finish to the book.
The book was published in 1938 and the dialogue reflects the times and the pompous language of the lawyers in the trial, but it is not difficult to read. The judge plays an interesting role in the story and readers get a glimpse into the thinking of the jury foreman.
It's an entertaining mystery written by a talented author. Highly recommended for fans of English country house murder mysteries. The Introduction by Martin Edwards is a must read as it provides interesting background about the author and the story.
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for a copy of the book. My views expressed above are my own.

[BJ Hal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Interesting premise to not know which of the four suspects is actually on trial for murder until near the end of the book, although it's quite easy to deduce from the clues given. The characters I enjoyed the most were the judge and the foreman of the jury who was a man after my own heart-if someone tries to hard to convince me of something I almost always want to take the opposite direction. The book is also very readable in that you want to read to the end to know what happens and apart from the detective working on the statements he has taken there is nothing to interrupt the rhythm of the book.
So why only 3 stars? Two main reasons: firstly I really enjoyed Hull's first book The Murder of My Aunt which I found very funny and was perhaps expecting a similar vein of humour in this book but it wasn't there and secondly the idea of not wanting someone to be punished because the victim is so repulsive both in crime novels and real life is dangerous because why wouldn't the murderer do the same thing again to someone else for what they think is a common good? So in the end although it has an interesting premise and is very readable I actually found it rather unsatisfying

[Ninaminacat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different twist on the Golden Age detective novel

Having previously enjoyed Richard Hull's first novel, 'The Murder of My Aunt', I was keen try another of his Golden Age murder stories with a difference.

In 'Excellent Intentions' , the reader gathers information about the case via not only the investigation but also the trial - without knowing the identity of the defendant until almost the end! The book is laced with black humour and filled with unusual characters, including a thoroughly unlikeable victim. I was particularly fond of the sometimes over-talkative, yet highly analytical Inspector Fenby and the wonderfully named prosecutor, Anstruther Blayton, whom I could both visualise and hear performing in court.

Although the structure is clever, this novel isn't quite as good as Richard Hull's first work of detective fiction.

[Niki (nikilovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1938, Excellent Intentions is the story of a murder trial of a man that no one is sorry to hear of his death. One of the key features is that the author doesn't tell us which of the four possible suspects is on trial until towards the end of the book. I really enjoyed the way this story unfolded as it alternates between the trial and the investigation. The characters and the story were interesting and the way the story was told was quite unique.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. An interesting mystery with an unusual set up for the time. I thought the ending was unclear. Yes, the intention was achieved but that didn't have to be the end of the matter in the process.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Matthew Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best crime classic, but still worth a read for the inventiveness of the plot.

http://mb-bookreviews.blogspot.com/20...