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What Members Thought

First published in 1933, this is the first in a Golden Age series, featuring P.C. Richardson (who, we learn from the introduction of this book, is very quickly promoted). Author Basil Thomson was both an Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard and a prison governor, and, as such, brings something different to this book. This is not a crime novel where private detectives make intuitive deductions, but there is an emphasis on more routine police work – establishing alibis, checking facts and legwo
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3.5-4 stars - Very satisfying debut Golden Age police procedural written by a former Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. I’m glad I read this with the Reading the Detectives group. I’m learning about several enjoyable new-to-me authors to try in my favorite genre. Basil Thomson will be one of them!
The Richardson of the title is a London constable on hand as the story opens with a bang - an elderly man has dashed into traffic on a rainy afternoon and been struck down - he dies on the way to ...more
The Richardson of the title is a London constable on hand as the story opens with a bang - an elderly man has dashed into traffic on a rainy afternoon and been struck down - he dies on the way to ...more

I enjoyed this book. It described the work of the police force of the time, showing how they worked and their structure. This was way before walkie-talkies, where everything was done by foot or occasional cabs,which must have added to the time it took for crimes to be investigated . As it deals with with the procedural working of the force, it differs greatly from other Golden Age books.
The author was Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, and also held many other positions within law enforce ...more
The author was Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, and also held many other positions within law enforce ...more

This is a fine read, especially since none of the cops are suffering from any of the usual trauma eg broken marriages, drug-addiction or psychological damage as seems to be the norm in procedurals. They're just hard working and clever. The spice here is courtesy of the secondary characters who carry quite a bit of the story line - and do it well.
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Jun 26, 2016
Helen (read247_instyle_inca)
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
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golden-age-of-mystery


Feb 22, 2019
Gary Vassallo
marked it as to-read

Mar 05, 2019
Mary Ellen
marked it as to-read