The Middle of Things

by J. S Fletcher

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

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

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1922

Reviews

[Samantha Glasser]

A wealthy man named Ashton is found murdered in an alley, apparently robbed for his jewelry and pocketbook. The police believe they have the killer, a young man who the next morning tries to pawn one of the stolen rings. Viner, however, the man who discovered the body and who is friends with the accused, believes otherwise. It is a quick race to find the real guilty party in order to save an innocent man. But none of the information is completely clear; the victim has a mysterious past and there is no rational motive. His charge, a young girl named Miss Wickham, proves to be of little help and Ashton had no close friendships. It is up to the lawyers and Viner to unravel the mystery that has roots in royalty.

Another exciting J. S. Fletcher murder mystery, The Middle of Things keeps the reader guessing until the very end. The story features several Fletcher staples, such as a curious and bored average citizen, a case of mistaken identities, and a believable ending. The style is a bit dated, but it is not so antiquated as to be foreign or difficult. Fans of mysteries and Fletcher's writing alike will not be disappointed.

Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/9...

[MarilynLovesNature]

A thoroughly enjoyable mystery! I can't say too much about it in order to avoid spoilers. Clues are slowly unfolded. The young man, Viner, works very hard to save an old acquaintance that he believes is falsely accused of the murder. He is aided by a likeable lawyer, Mr. Pawle. Viner eventually learns that his aunt's interest in mysteries is a more serious pursuit than the foolish "fantasy" he judges it to be.
The two women who share the murdered man's household although important to the story reveal little of their personalities. I usually look for mysteries in which the characters are just as important if not more so than the plot. It didn't bother me in this mystery however because the continual unfolding of information from various sources held my interest so I could not stop reading.

[John]

The plot is well reviewed here by others so I will just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this story of JS Fletcher's as I have enjoyed pretty well all of his that I have read so far. The man had a very fertile imagination and played fair with the reader supplying plenty of clues which enabled me, at least, to work most, but not all of it, out. If it wasn't for the fact that the ending was a bit sudden I would have given it four and a half stars.

If, like me, you enjoy these old fashioned tales and the fairly staid writing style of the period then this one is highly recommended.

[Cheryl]

A mystery novel written in 1922 about murder, identity and inheritance. There are a whole lot of coincidences in the plot. If the people investigating the murder need a certain bit of information, in a few pages a witness will suddenly contact them with that very information. This happened numerous times and frankly became annoying. A quick read, but nothing special.

[Mike]

Fletcher was a good mystery writer, and this one is engaging and well written for most of its length, but doesn't stick the landing.

Viner, a "young gentleman of means and leisure" living in a nice part of London, returns home from an evening walk via a narrow passage between houses that offers a short cut. There he finds the dead body of a man who recently moved into the area, who he knows by sight. He saw a ragged-looking man running from the passage shortly before. The ragged man is picked up trying to pawn the man's ring to buy much-needed food, and found to be, by complete coincidence, an old schoolmate of Viner's from Rugby, down on his luck. (I haven't tagged the book "plot relies on coincidence" because, although there are some coincidences, they're not vital to the plot.) Viner is convinced he's innocent, for reasonable reasons (there was plenty of cash on the victim, which is missing, and if the suspect had cash to buy food he would have done so rather than try to pawn the ring, which he says he just snatched up from the ground in passing, thinking the victim was drunk).

It turns out the murdered man was also carrying some papers relevant to the succession to a noble title, and Viner and the several lawyers he involves (mostly in an attempt to clear his old schoolmate) are convinced that this is the motive for the crime. Multiple witnesses emerge from all directions with important clues, and the group gradually piece together the mystery. There's no one detective; Viner, a couple of the lawyers, Viner's sharp elderly aunt (who's addicted to murder mysteries) and a couple of other characters all contribute to the eventual solution.

Unfortunately, while the working out of clues and red herrings is engaging and well written, the resolution is at least two kinds of cheat, and not "fair play." The murderer is barely mentioned until right at the end, and was introduced early on only as someone with a minor and conventional function. Among a huge cast of minor characters, most of the others are more noticeable and memorable. Actual spoilers for whodunnit in the spoiler tags, because I want to complain about a plot point that makes no sense whatsoever: The murderer turns out to have a house that backs onto the alley where the murder took place, and to have done it as he showed the victim out of his own back gate. Which is fine, but why, then, does he not just go back into his house? Why does he instead go out of the alley in such a way that the man who becomes the prime suspect sees him? Why is he muffled up with his face hidden, something that is distinctive to this character and that another witness sees in a completely different context, but nobody who lives near him ever notices him doing it? The answer is obviously "so that the suspect can mention a plausible alternative suspect and it can be confirmed that such a man exists and was seen with the victim," but that's a book reason, not a reason reason.

Those issues, and the thin romance that is also a solution to an impasse that I saw coming fifteen miles off, lost the book its fourth star. It's one of those that's enjoyable right up until the end, but then kind of falls apart.

[Natasha Downing]

Good mystery. There were several twists and turns and Fletcher is good at keeping you guessing at whose done it!

[Ellis Knox]

Decently written, but the plot was too arcane for my taste. There was too much pulling of rabbits from hats too far into the story.

[Starry]

A solid British mystery from the 1920s (amid the Golden Age of mysteries). It was everything one might hope for: a good puzzle with lots of twists as new information is revealed and a satisfying ending.

Available free on Amazon since in the public domain

[Eric]

Although a large number of lawyers, one professional and one amateur detective are involved in trying to get the root of the murder of the wealthy but mysterious Mr Ashton, it is the acuity of the elderly inveterate reader of detective stories, Miss Penkridge which yields the vital clue.

Questions of identity and inheritance, missing papers and stolen valuables all add to a rather heady mix in this vintage Fletcher tale.

As ever, this is very readable, if highly unlikely, and, in the end, justice is done.

3.25 stars.

[for-much-deliberation ...]

Viner stumbles upon the body of a murdered man whilst just following through his ordinary day routines. Little does he know that this find would make him a key figure in solving a big mystery. Well its soon discovered that the murdered man's name was Ashton and some important documents were stolen from him, but the true purpose for killing him and his real identity and that of his charge, make for a rather excitingly interesting murder-mystery...

[Kathy]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book published 1922 when things were a bit different in the world of crime to say the least. These kindle books are free and certainly provide the reader with some entertainment. I like to hear a good "Capital!" exclaimed by an old attorney. I also like to imagine that perhaps my grandmother may have read the Fetcher books, a quietly comforting thought.

[Jack]

Classic 1920s murder mystery

[Anie]

Pleasant old fashioned mystery, good time-passer, doesn't challenge the brain at all, though

[Pat]

I have 2 more of Fletcher's books left and I am really going to miss reading this author. The twists and turns always keep me reading well past my bedtime!!

[Redbird]

Started out slow, didn't feel like a whodunit. Took some time to really get interested in the story, but once it got rolling, it held my interest.

[Gu Kun]

"The dim-witted detectives"

[Leah]

A fun Fletcher with a slightly tighter mystery than some of his others. (Scotland)

[Allison]

This book was REALLY good! I kept thinking as I read it, "This could be a mini-series, or even a movie!"

The opening scene reveals Richard Viner and his aunt, Miss Bethia Penkridge, talking about talking good-naturedly about the mystery books Bethia enjoys reading. Richard doesn't believe such mysteries occur in real-life, but his aunt disagrees.

After their talk, Richard goes out for his nightly stroll on the streets of London (this all takes place in 1920's London and its outskirts). The next thing that happens is that a wild-eyed man bumps into him as the man runs out of a nearby alley. As the man runs away, Richard goes into the alley to discover there is a dead man lying there with blood on the front of his shirt.

So begins the mystery: Who is the dead man? Who was running away? Why was the man killed? The first two questions are answered quickly (John Ashton; Langton Hyde), but the third question takes up the rest of the book, and it is told exceptionally well. It involves both the highest ends of London society and the lowest. It ranges from the neighborhood of Richard Viner and as far away as Australia. There is never a time when the story drags; rather, each chapter both gives more answers and yet also creates more questions. It really is the perfect mystery. When all is finally revealed at the end, it is quite satisfying, and the reader feels as though a complete meal has been eaten.

I absolutely encourage any mystery lover to read this book. You're welcome.

HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND

[R. F. S. Kaplan]

J S Fletcher was a prolific writer, with a very good ear for the ways English was spoken among the classes and regions that made up the Britain of his time; in a way, this is the main charm of his books which in terms of plot and character development tend to be somewhat formulaic. I do not mean this in a pejorative sense, but he did tend to use the same plot structure to create well-designed and crafted whodoneit's that will keep the reader at the edge of each page (unless he falls asleep), but do not otherwise provoke his intellect. (One exception -- I am no expert on Fletcher, and there may be others -- is "The Root of all Evil", in which he goes beyond the plot to attempt some insights into social and psychological types in turn of the century (last century) England, when changing economic opportunities impacted the country more broadly than in the past.) His no-nonsense moral sense leaves no room for ambiguity regarding who's to have our sympathy in his stories, and that is refreshing.

[Vincent]

Well I bought this long ago written/published mystery because it is free on Kindle - I was keeping it for escape reading - I finally started it and found it really good.

It was engaging, the characters were interesting, and I really kept reading it in available time as I might a Grisham (I like his books almost always) -

This tale is build around interesting circumstances and it exposes a maybe somewhat idealistic view of England at the time. Not denying the existence of bad guys but having a preponderance of nice, ethical people with the wealth to be that way which is likely less real. Also the general populace was very cooperative - no character "had to get to work" - "had to stay home with a sick relation" etc. - none the less I might look for others of his books - I think they are available and inexpensive - to have in reserve when I need an escape.

I would try it if you like mysteries at all.

[George]

A bit slow moving and then ends quickly in just a few pages.

1922 mystery involving murder, identity and inheritance. There are a whole lot of coincidences in the plot and Viner, a young gentleman of means and leisure, who lives with his maiden aunt who loves mysteries finds himself in the middle of everything as he finds the body of a new neighbor, John Ashton, close by. When the police believe they have the killer, Viner, believes otherwise. It becomes a quick race to find the real guilty party in order to save an innocent man.

Ashton has a mysterious past, no close friends, a recent arrival in London, and there is no rational motive. It is up to the lawyers and Viner to unravel the mystery that has roots in royalty.

[Paul in SF]

The primary category of this book, here on Goodreads, is Mystery, but it really isn't that. Instead, it's much more of a Boy's Own story, an adventure, with an early setting of a problem, and then incident after incident pile up, most of them unanticipated, and just when things get decidedly tense, the air is let out and the balloon falls flat at the end. All told, there is only one small surprise, and all the arrests are made off-stage, so to speak, with the various good-guy players left to congratulate themselves for several pages that I didn't bother to read. Disappointing, and not particularly recommended.

[Ann]

An Australian gentleman, newly arrived in London, is found murdered in a dark alley. Richard Viner, the neighbor who discovers the dead man, becomes interested in the case when the accused murderer turns out to be an old school fellow. The real mystery is : who was Mr. Ashton? What was the mysterious business he had come to England to conduct? Who is his pretty ward, Miss Wickham?

This story has a missing heir, diamonds, secret documents, impostors, wily old lawyers, and everything you could wish for on a rainy afternoon.

[William]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

Another will written British 🏰 murder mystery family relationships adventure thriller pulp fiction from the 1920s by J. S. Fletcher. About a man 🚹 coming back from Australia to his ward in London. He is murdered and the investigation begins leading to 👍 an unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novel to readers of murder mysteries please note that European pulp fiction mysteries from the early 1900s is not American pulp fiction. I recommend it for a change of pace. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening to Alexa. 2022 👒😊👑

[Janet]

I'm reading through Project Gutenberg's supply of Fletcher's mysteries, and really enjoyed this one. The setup is a rather predictable one for the period: a young woman and her guardian appear in London, both have mysterious backgrounds, then the guardian is murdered.
The "detective" is the neighbour who finds the body... but don't ignore his elderly, mystery-reading aunt. There are a large number of red herrings.
Fletcher's usual fault appears: a ridiculously tied-up ending.

[P.]

Coincidence is king in The Middle of Things, in fact you might say it's in the middle of all that happens. There was only one instance I thought a tad outre, but got over it. Fletcher had the ability to keep you interested and therefore forgiving, possibly oblivious of all but the most obvious. A fine, and prolific writer.

[curleduptoes]

Everything was good, the mystery, the set up(I love suspense novels set up in London), the characters.
Mystery lovers must read this entertaining book.

Con: This book, I felt, was too long. Somehow I struggled to finish it. The end could have been better. One more chapter could be added mentioning about the punishment to the wrong doers as well as the benefaction to the right ones.

[Page]

I had to keep reminding myself that this was written in a very different era. I can't imagine a young woman being so...uninterested in what is going on around her. Miss Wickham knew nothing of her past and was content to ask zero questions of her guardian. There were a few lose ends that bugged me, especially how the companion was hired. An awful lot of coincidence. Still an enjoyable puzzle.

[Susan]

While out walking one night Mr Viner stumbles across a body in an alley, but who was the man who barged into him just moments previously. Who really was the murdered man and what secrets caused his death.
An interesting and enjoyable mystery.

[Mark Shepard]

The writing is just a little stiff, but it's a British mystery from 1922 so I'm not surprised. The best part is the plot. The story peels back layers like an onion. Just when you think you know what's going on a new plot point is added. I will definitely be reading more from this author.