The Spotted Cat and Other Mysteries from Inspector Cockrill's Casebook

Inspector Cockrill

by Christianna Brand, Tony Medawar

INSPECTOR COCKRILL INVESTIGATES Christianna Brand (the pseudonym of Mary Christianna Milne Lewis, 1907-1988) was a supreme mistress of the classic detective story, with twists and turns, and all the clues fairly given to the reader. The wizened, bird-like Inspector Cockrill of the Kent police starred in Green for Danger, one of the greatest detective novels to emerge from World War II, but The Spotted Cat is the first collection of all of the short stories about him. Five of the stories have never previously appeared in a Brand volume, and one of them is published here for the first time. The book also includes a genuine "find," a previously unpublished three-act detective drama featuring Cockrill. This is the 5th volume of "Crippen & Landru Lost Classics."

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Christianna Brand (December 17, 1907 - March 11, 1988) was a crime writer and children's author. Brand also wrote under the pseudonyms Mary Ann Ashe, Annabel Jones, Mary Roland, and China Thomson.

She was born Mary Christianna Milne in 1907 in Malaya and spent her early years in India. She had a number of different occupations, including model, dancer, shop assistant and governess.

Her first novel, Death in High Heels, was written while Brand was working as a salesgirl. In 1941, one of her best-loved characters, Inspector Cockrill of the Kent County Police, made his debut in the book Heads You Lose. The character would go on to appear in seven of her novels. Green for Danger is Brand’s most famous novel. The whodunit, set in a World War 2 hospital, was adapted for film by Eagle-Lion Films in 1946, starring Alastair Sim as the Inspector. She dropped the series in the late 1950s and concentrated on various genres as well as short stories. She was nominated three times for Edgar Awards: for the short stories "Poison in the Cup" (EQMM, Feb. 1969) and "Twist for Twist" (EQMM, May 1967) and for a nonfiction work about a Scottish murder case, Heaven Knows Who (1960). She is the author of the children's series Nurse Matilda, which Emma Thompson adapted to film as Nanny McPhee (2005).

Her Inspector Cockrill short stories and a previously unpublished Cockrill stage play were collected as The Spotted Cat and Other Mysteries from inspector Cockrill's Casebook, edited by Tony Medawar (2002).

Series:
* Nurse Matilda
* Inspector Charlesworth
* Inspector Chucky
* Inspector Cockrill

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brand was a prolific writer but this book is devoted only to her short stories (and one three act play) about Inspector Cockrill, one of her more popular series characters. The play shows Cockie being fooled by a group of unpleasant characters--he may suspect the culprits, but he can't really prove anything, until--well, no spoilers here. Brand has an uncanny gift for building a suspenseful and disturbing atmosphere, though she usually provides a happy ending for everyone but the murderer, and the victim, of course.

[Deb Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the mood for some interesting short mystery stories, but the ones in this book did not work for me. This author has a number of other written works, some under other psydonyms. I honestly won't be seeking them out.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of Cockrill short stories. He gets to show off his skills, sometimes without leaving his chair and can even turn a blind eye. I confess I didn't read the title story as it is a play and I couldn't get into it.

[Juan Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noy very interesting little stories. Below Christianna Brand 's average mysteries

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: all nine short stories plus a three-act play featuring Inspector Cockrill. One of them has never been published before.