Lestrade and the Brother of Death

Sholto Lestrade Mystery #5

by M.J. Trow

Recovering from a broken leg after his ignominious fall from the Titanic, Superintendent Lestrade goes to convalesce at the home of his betrothed Fanny Berkeley and her father Tom.

Genres: Historical Mystery, Mystery, Audiobook, Historical Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Meirion James Trow is a full-time teacher of history who has been doubling as a crime writer for seventeen years. Originally from Ferndale, Rhondda in South Wales he now lives on the Isle of Wight. His interests include collecting militaria, film, the supernatural and true crime.

Reviews

[John Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a couple of books ditched, it was good to be back on familiar ground where I could be assured of an enjoyable read. First I visited Maxwell, now, from the same author, Lestrade.

The surprise cliffhanger of the previous book in the series, saw Lestrade boarding a ship for a holiday. The Titanic. He leaves the ship in a typical Lestrade moment resulting in a few months confined to a bathchair with his broken leg in plaster.
Not that he needed it but the bathchair adds to his accident prone Clouseau like clumsiness even before the inventor of meccano 'improves' the design wih an engine.

The story itself had the Conan Doyle feel about it  with linked deaths over a number of years . As with similar books, it is up to the armchair detective to discover the crucial one that explained the others. 

This is so much more than a early 1900s detective story. The author makes use of anyone who was around at the time to add interest although a certain two ladies mentioned as an alibi were about 60 years early !  It is not just people although I needed to check on a line to confirm a 60's Whisky advert which which crept in.

I was also interested to have a Professor Margaret Murray introduced in the story as I have just started rsading the authors new series featuring her.

If you like a twist to your detective stories which don't take themselves too seriously then start at the beginning of this series.


27th January 2026

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The English version is called “The Dilly Song.” In the U.S. (at least in many churches), it’s called “Children, Go Where I Send Thee?” The verses are slightly different as the latter does a count through a dozen cute little quips to explain how God is going to send various people to share about “One for the little bitty baby, born, born, born in Bethlehem.” The former does have a religious context, but doesn’t have a chorus. Indeed, there must be different lyrics because the version that weaves throughout this mystery has several lines in common with “Children, Go Where I Send Thee” while the most recently recorded version of “The Dilly Song” does not. The important crossover verses between the novel and the U.S. song to which I refer are “Four for the Gospel Makers” and “Twelve for the Twelve Apostles.” The former reference in both songs is, of course, to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but there is an interesting variation when Lestrade figures out how the clue pertains to the series of murders he is investigating. Actually, even the latter reference refers to “twelve apostles” in a rather oblique way. Personally, I was impressed with the clues in this book. It was almost as if writing these mysteries had ceased to be a chore for M. J. Trow and he was having fun with the character again.

As you can imagine, the plot line implies a countdown from twelve potential victims to one with regard to the series of murders. Yet, the sequence takes place over a number of years and it takes Lestrade right up until the end to figure out who the final victim is going to be. I picked out the final victim long before I settled on the right murderer. There were some “red herrings” that led me to a conclusion that was “close” but no cigar. I should have paid far more attention to the title of the book and I wouldn’t have made the mistake. Of course, that isn’t the only misdirection in the novel. There is one point at which Lestrade’s assumptions regarding a relationship between two characters nearly gets him killed.

Although I felt like the book definitely offered a nice blend of humor and mystery, I know that some people will not like the approach in this book. Because the serial murders in this book occur over a long stretch of time, Trow uses a lot of “flashback” sequences (cleverly performed in different ways: daydreaming, recounting past events, answering questions, etc.) to set up the mainstream portion of the plot. To me, these flashbacks are clearly indicated as flashbacks and do not take away from the ongoing narrative. They are fascinating to read and relevant to the mystery. So, I really enjoyed this adventure in the character originally created as Sherlock Holmes’ foil. Trow even gets in a few digs as “the great detective” and made me snicker out loud more than once as I imagined myself in Lestrade’s shoes.

Speaking of snickering, there is a tradition in the book that Lestrade meets someone famous from the era in each book. In this case, it is Dr. Fleming as a young man before discovering penicillin. Naturally, Trow takes the opportunity to create an amusing moment out of Lestrade’s encounter with Fleming as his attending physician after an accident. I laughed out loud and had to share the moment with my wife who was also amused. Frankly, I had taken a break from the series after Lestrade and the Deadly Game and Lestrade and the Ripper, but I’m rather anxious to get my hands on Lestrade and the Guardian Angel rather soon. These books have been marvelous garnishes to my reading entrees for about 18 months now and I’ll be sorry when I’m finally through with the series.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The double-entendres, the misconstrued meanings and the appearances of the later to be famous mark the difference between the Lestrade stories and the usual historical police-procedurals. Lestrade here falls off the Titanic as it departs on its maiden voyage and despite his broken leg ends up at the centre of a murder which appears to target his prospective father-in-law. A mysterious note is yet another he has received over his forty-year career and he recalls the circumstances behind receiving those notes as this moves to a fairly mundane climax despite the humour

[Kalu Brake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would do a five star except for a few key factors.
So Shalto doesn't catch his murderers they usually catch him. Even when he was a young detective! His two encyclopedia men at Scotland Yard were the highlight of the book to me.👏
I would read more of the series.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book series!

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 3 out of 5]

At 60, Lestrade remains a clumsy man of middling intelligence and limited vocabulary, prone to accident and misunderstanding. And he continues to not so much find answers to crimes as stumble upon them. I like the way the author puts words together. His prose is witty and fun to read. This story, however, told largely in flashbacks, can be difficult to follow because the past events create distractions from 'current' events.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book I've read in this series. I loved the flashbacks to Lestrade's earlier cases, and how the vicar was an avid fan of Father Brown.