The Ferrybridge Mystery

by Derek Vane

The Ferrybridge Mystery is a classic detective novel written by Derek Vane and first published in 1920. The story is set in the fictional English village of Ferrybridge and follows the investigation of a murder that takes place in the local manor house. The victim is the wealthy and unpopular Sir James Willoughby, and the suspects are numerous. The investigation is led by Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard, who is aided by local amateur sleuth Ronald Camberwell. Together, they uncover a web of deceit, secrets, and hidden motives among the suspects, including Sir James's wife, his secretary, and his business partner. As the investigation progresses, the tension builds, and the reader is kept guessing until the surprising conclusion. The Ferrybridge Mystery is a classic whodunit that will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie and other Golden Age detective novelists.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

Reviews

[Gail Gassen]

Lots of drama!

This wasn't a bad book, but I was really stunned at the ending. I had in my head many ides of who the killer was several times. The characters were well written it's just that any minute they would be falling apart from the emotions the dead man had caused. I guess he was quite a bad lot. Not sure why or what he did, but verbal abuse I guess. Not sure I'll look into reading another book by this author tho. I doubt it. Sorry, there might be many people who'd really love how it was written. Go for it then..

[Vivienne]

2.5 Stars
Um... where do I start? I am a fan of "Golden Age" murder-mysteries but have never read one dating to 1920. As the editorial blurb said, the writer's name is a male pseudonym for female romance writer (thought to self, wonder what her romances are like)? The writing style is pure melodrama and after a couple of chapters I really wondered if I would be able to finish the book. The plot is a standard "whodunnit", but the author did manage to keep me guessing who as to who did the murder. The book is set in a village not too far from London.
The H is a bit of a drip, and often acts as if he were a boy, instead of a grown man (age not given but I assumed late 20s/early 30s). The h is the epitome of melodrama and was either hysterical or depressed and she thoroughly irritated me. In an old silent movie, she would be the one lying bound on railway tracks with a train coming! Things seem to settle for a while and then just when I thought it was safe to turn the page and keep reading, back came all the melodramatics. By then I couldn't STOP reading -it's like a horrid fascination thing, such as when you cover your face so you don't see something, and then peer through your fingers. There is quite a small cast of characters and as the author did have a real gift of description, I could visualise each one perfectly. The butler is my favourite character by far and plays a prominent role in the story. There is aso the murdered man, his estranged wife (although she was a well-kept secret), the murdered man's truly awful mother, (both of whom live in London), and another resident of the village, a man who could be the murderer - but is he?
By comparison with the rest of the book, the ending is subdued and anti-climatic. I doubt I will read any more of this author's books, however, others may read this one and thoroughly enjoy it. PS. I gave an extra half-star just for the butler!

[Jillian]

Another of the reprints of out-of-print novels from 'the Golden Age of Crime". For me the most interesting thing about this one is that it tells it story through the feelings and behaviours of the characters around the victim, rather than through conventional investigation. It is as if the author is exploring how a murder might be solved when police fail to ask the right questions and Miss Marple is not around to bring her observations to straightening things out.

We are presented with the dilemmas of various people with reasons to keep secret their actions. We see the conclusions drawn by the police when working with incomplete evidence and pressure from vengeful parties.

While there is rather too much monologue and dialogue of the "It's all my fault, I've been a weak and selfish woman" variety and a decent edit would reduce the book by 20-30%, I thought this a really interesting experiment in perspective and approach. Had technology not taken the genre down the deduction and forensics pathway we might have had a genre of crime novels solved by focusing on the psychological impact of guilt on both perpetrators and a community.

Really interesting.