The Toff and the Golden Boy

Toff #52

by John Creasey

An outbreak of robberies with threatened violence on small tobacconist shops in London, involving gangs of long-haired youths led by Golden Boy, excites the Toff's curiosity. What is the motive behind these apparently profitless crimes ? Golden Boy quickly shows he means business, and the Toff is caught up in a rising crescendo of violence, mayhem and attempted murder.

Genres: Mystery

158 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

AKA Gordon Ashe, M E Cooke, Norman Deane, Robert Caine Frazer, Patrick Gill, Michael Halliday, Charles Hogarth, Brian Hope, Colin Hughes, Kyle Hunt, Margaret Lisle, Abel Mann, Peter Manton, J.J. Marric, Richard Martin, Rodney Mattheson, Anthony Morton, Jeremy York, Henry St. John Cooper and Margaret Cooke.

John Creasey (September 17, 1908 - June 9, 1973) was born in Southfields, Surrey, England and died in New Hall, Bodenham, Salisbury Wiltshire, England. He was the seventh of nine children in a working class home. He became an English author of crime thrillers, published in excess of 600 books under 20+ different pseudonyms. He invented many famous characters who would appear in a whole series of novels. Probably the most famous of these is Gideon of Scotland Yard, the basis for the television program Gideon's Way but others include Department Z, Dr. Palfrey, The Toff, Inspector Roger West, and The Baron (which was also made into a television series). In 1962, Creasey won an Edgar Award for Best Novel, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Gideon's Fire, written under the pen name J. J. Marric. And in 1969 he was given the MWA's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.

Reviews

[Dave Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated the grit and actual sense of danger Creasey added to this quick read (The Toffs I've read had less action and more yapping). But the ending was ludicrous and deadened much of the goodwill he banked throughout the novel. Too bad.

[Ann Repetto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun little read in a long series. Nothing was believable and the solution was outta nowhere. Still, a pleasant distraction.

[Randal · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK, so the ending. Two characters who flit briefly through about Chapter Three and then disappear are the bad guys. Wtf? It reads like Creasey has been dragging these two along for several novels and, having tired of them, gets them sent away for 10-15 years just to be rid of them.
Up until then, it's the prototypical English detective novel, with the upper-class detective superman ably supported by all the admiring little people around him. It panders to blue-haired readers worried about those darned kids today.
The plot strains against common sense like Kim Kardashian's butt in yoga pants (like nobody would notice a bunch of stoned-out slackers running all the mom & pop tobacco shops in London, for instance). And there's no explaining lots of things ... like The Toff's regular lapses in ju-jitsu.

[Sev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why, oh why, is this not an e-book already? The Toff, Inspector Gideon and that scientific spy series I don't recall the name of but reminds me somewhat of the Man From Uncle are all old favorites that I greatly miss not being able to read since they're only in paperback. Could not even find large print, hope someday the publishers remedy this as I'm sure a whole new generation would enjoy this author's excellent stories.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Toff gets in a lot more trouble than he expects when he takes on a gang of long haired youth engaging in the protection racket.

[Delores Alger · Rating 4 out of 5]

toff

[Carol Colfer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's my first one about the Toff, and I enjoyed it. Not great literature, but enjoyable to read and it kept my interest. Kind of an Agatha Christy kind of book.