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Dr. Priestley #8
Pinehurst
"West Street, Lenhaven, although it is the main, in fact the only direct, approach to that important seaport from the westward, is a singularly uninviting thoroughfare." - the opening sentence.
- GenresMystery
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1930
24 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
John Rhode
144 books31 followersAKA Miles Burton, Cecil Waye, Cecil J.C. Street, I.O., F.O.O..
Cecil John Charles Street, MC, OBE, (1884 - January 1965), known as CJC Street and John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British army. During the course of World War I, he became a propagandist for MI7, in which role he held the rank of Major. After the armistice, he alternated between Dublin and London during the Irish War of Independence as Information Officer for Dublin Castle, working closely with Lionel Curtis. He later earned his living as a prolific writer of detective novels.
He produced two long series of novels; one under the name of John Rhode featuring the forensic scientist Dr Priestley, and another under the name of Miles Burton featuring the investigator Desmond Merrion. Under the name Cecil Waye, Street produced four novels: The Figure of Eight; The End of the Chase; The Prime Minister's Pencil; and Murder at Monk's Barn. The Dr. Priestley novels were among the first after Sherlock Holmes to feature scientific detection of crime, such as analysing the mud on a suspect's shoes. Desmond Merrion is an amateur detective who works with Scotland Yard's Inspector Arnold.
Critic and author Julian Symons places this author as a prominent member of the "Humdrum" school of detective fiction. "Most of them came late to writing fiction, and few had much talent for it. They had some skill in constructing puzzles, nothing more, and ironically they fulfilled much better than S. S. Van Dine his dictum that the detective story properly belonged in the category of riddles or crossword puzzles. Most of the Humdrums were British, and among the best known of them were Major John Street.
-Wikipedia
Cecil John Charles Street, MC, OBE, (1884 - January 1965), known as CJC Street and John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British army. During the course of World War I, he became a propagandist for MI7, in which role he held the rank of Major. After the armistice, he alternated between Dublin and London during the Irish War of Independence as Information Officer for Dublin Castle, working closely with Lionel Curtis. He later earned his living as a prolific writer of detective novels.
He produced two long series of novels; one under the name of John Rhode featuring the forensic scientist Dr Priestley, and another under the name of Miles Burton featuring the investigator Desmond Merrion. Under the name Cecil Waye, Street produced four novels: The Figure of Eight; The End of the Chase; The Prime Minister's Pencil; and Murder at Monk's Barn. The Dr. Priestley novels were among the first after Sherlock Holmes to feature scientific detection of crime, such as analysing the mud on a suspect's shoes. Desmond Merrion is an amateur detective who works with Scotland Yard's Inspector Arnold.
Critic and author Julian Symons places this author as a prominent member of the "Humdrum" school of detective fiction. "Most of them came late to writing fiction, and few had much talent for it. They had some skill in constructing puzzles, nothing more, and ironically they fulfilled much better than S. S. Van Dine his dictum that the detective story properly belonged in the category of riddles or crossword puzzles. Most of the Humdrums were British, and among the best known of them were Major John Street.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 1, 2022
The problem here may have been that I recently read, and much enjoyed, Rhode's Peril at Cranbury Hall. Certainly this outing for Dr Priestley paled in comparison.
After an interesting start in which the body of a dead man is found in the back of the car of a drunk driver stopped by the police, this slips into a rather unwieldy and routine procedural, albeit that the police are heavily guided by the amateur detective.
The American writer and detective novel reviewer Todd Downing wrote:-
"The murder of old Mr Coningsworth is an ingenious one, but the author has not shown equal ingenuity in concealing the identity of the murderer. If the reader cannot identify him before he has read half the book he had better quit reading detective stories."
The full solution, however, requires a huge amount of back story and a late dumping of information which I found dull and trying. The whole was rather reminiscent of some Sherlock Holmes stories, but Conan Doyle does it so much better and more succinctly.
Dr Priestley himself says:-
"But I, in my turn, must make a confession that I would not utter if Harold were present. My deductions were based very largely on conjecture, unsupported by proof."
This is not John Rhode at his ingenious best and one which would be off-putting for new readers.
The edition has a general Introduction by Curtis Evans and a number of typos which are irritating.
3.25 stars.
After an interesting start in which the body of a dead man is found in the back of the car of a drunk driver stopped by the police, this slips into a rather unwieldy and routine procedural, albeit that the police are heavily guided by the amateur detective.
The American writer and detective novel reviewer Todd Downing wrote:-
"The murder of old Mr Coningsworth is an ingenious one, but the author has not shown equal ingenuity in concealing the identity of the murderer. If the reader cannot identify him before he has read half the book he had better quit reading detective stories."
The full solution, however, requires a huge amount of back story and a late dumping of information which I found dull and trying. The whole was rather reminiscent of some Sherlock Holmes stories, but Conan Doyle does it so much better and more succinctly.
Dr Priestley himself says:-
"But I, in my turn, must make a confession that I would not utter if Harold were present. My deductions were based very largely on conjecture, unsupported by proof."
This is not John Rhode at his ingenious best and one which would be off-putting for new readers.
The edition has a general Introduction by Curtis Evans and a number of typos which are irritating.
3.25 stars.
April 23, 2024
A complicated story
The death of an old, highly disagreeable man leads to an investigation in which Dr. Priestly becomes involved. Dr. Priestly's skills were not particularly believable to me. He absolutely knows everything. He imparts his knowledge in a rather furtive, annoying way. Not a favorite.
The death of an old, highly disagreeable man leads to an investigation in which Dr. Priestly becomes involved. Dr. Priestly's skills were not particularly believable to me. He absolutely knows everything. He imparts his knowledge in a rather furtive, annoying way. Not a favorite.
November 20, 2022
Good but not great .
An enjoyable tale and am glad I purchased it along with several others by John Rhode. Don't expect the level of writing delivered by Doyle and you'll enjoy his books .
An enjoyable tale and am glad I purchased it along with several others by John Rhode. Don't expect the level of writing delivered by Doyle and you'll enjoy his books .
November 27, 2022
A good read - complex and interesting enough, with a somewhat expected twist at the end. Enjoyable and a perfect selection for casual reading.
July 11, 2024
review
The story itself was quite alright but the many typos were aggravating! Capital letters in the middle of a sentence making it necessary to reread and others…
The story itself was quite alright but the many typos were aggravating! Capital letters in the middle of a sentence making it necessary to reread and others…
April 5, 2022
This Golden Age mystery was decent puzzle but last half was a bit of a slog with long backstory of the victim. One reviewer suggested this was not the best Dr. Priestley novel to start with so perhaps I will try another down the road...
March 22, 2017
Click on the link to read my full review:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
January 1, 2017
Full review at classicmystery.wordpress.com
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews