The Cheltenham Square Murder in Reading the Detectives

Jan 29, 2021 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Having struggled with the first two books in this series, I was pleased that I enjoyed this more. It centres around a Regency Square, with houses that surround a green space. Like other such neighbourhoods, there are a range of minor disagreements among the residents. A tree that some want cut down and others prefer left standing, a man showing too much interest in another man's wife, some business advice that ended in financial loss...

Many of the residents share a love of archery, so when one o ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jul 14, 2017 Tracey rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

It's funny. With all the exploration of how murder was committed in this book, how an arrow can cause death by "entering the fleshy part of the skull" (?) and all that good stuff – still, what grossed me out the most with this book was the fact that the victim, once the arrow was removed from his head, was carried away from the scene of death to be laid out in his own room, on his own bed. And all I could envision was what a horrific mess that bed is going to be. And who's going to have to clean ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2024 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, england, cozy-mystery, golden-age, john-bude

Third in the series of mysteries featuring Inspector Meredith by English author Ernest Carpenter Elmore, who wrote as John Bude, The Cheltenham Square Murder is in some ways the typical golden age murder with a closed circuit of suspects in a small tight-knit neighbourhood, but it still has its novelty in terms of the murder weapon (a bow and arrow) and in that a large section of that small neighbourhood just happen to be members of the local archery club, many of them fairly good shots.

We are i Third in the series of mysteries featuring Inspector Meredith by English author Ernest Carpenter Elmore, who wrote as John Bude, The Cheltenham Square Murder is in some ways the typical golden age murder with a closed circuit of suspects in a small tight-knit neighbourhood, but it still has its novelty in terms of the murder weapon (a bow and arrow) and in that a large section of that small neighbourhood just happen to be members of the local archery club, many of them fairly good shots.

We are introduced to the small u-shaped Regency Square in Cheltenham, with 11 homes set around it, and to each of their inhabitants—from a patrician and his wife to a vicar, a stockbroker and a doctor, the stereotypical spinster with her menage of dogs, two spinster sisters sharing a home, and a bank manager among them. This is a tranquil neighbourhood but not one without its small and not-so-small troubles. There is an ongoing battle over an old elm which half the neighbours want chopped down while the rest vehemently oppose; more seriously there is also an open flirtation between the wife of one resident Mr West and another, the disreputable Captain Cotton—causing the former his fair share of marital troubles, though not its only cause. But things take a more serious turn when one of the residents is killed while visiting another—shot with an arrow in the back of their skull.

Inspector Long of the local police is sent to investigate; but luckily for them, at number 8 visiting mystery-writer Aldous Barnet is none other than Inspector Meredith. Long and his superior Chief Constable Hanson not only don’t opposite his presence but positively welcome it, his reputation having preceded him and soon sort out permission issues so that he can work with them on the case.

It isn’t a secret that the victim was not well liked but whether and which person’s dislike was enough to lead to murder remains a puzzle. Then there is the method of murder, a bow and arrow—easy enough to work that out but where was it shot from, that too in the dark? And then the numbers of residents of Regency Square who are adept at archery add further layers of complication. Long and Meredith slowly work on each lead, in the process uncovering several secrets. But the murderer isn’t quite so easy to track and more than once Meredith and Long find themselves at a dead end. Do they manage to solve it?

Even though fairly straightforward (not many twists and turns), this was an enjoyable mystery to read, for its setting and characters as well as the mystery. I enjoyed ‘meeting’ the different characters, all distinct and well-drawn out, whether Sir Wilfrid and Lady Eleanor Whitcomb at the White House who think the other residents hoi polloi and only wish to get away from the unpleasantness of the murder to the unscrupulous broker Mr Buller, the young couple, bank manager Mr Fitzgerald and his wife, Miss Nancy and Emmeline Watt who enjoy a simple life with morning jaunts to the pump room and other gentle pursuits to the formidable Miss Boon and her dogs (at the receiving end of some unflattering and not too PC observations from Inspector Long).

The mystery unfolds more like a police procedural with Meredith working on each line of investigation interviewing all involved, following up on alibis, tracking down physical clues and even working out how the arrow might have been shot (for which he turns to a professional archer as well). But this also does have elements of the whodunit; there were two clues that were easy to pick up on which pointed to the murderer (and one rather obvious point in the murder itself) but this didn’t mean I didn’t suspect others or wonder whether another line of thought pointed at was the actual answer. Alongside there are other developments and revelations too which complicate things for Meredith and Long but add elements of interest for us readers.

In Meredith, to whom this was my introduction, we see an intelligent enough but certainly not beyond the ordinary detective. His method is simple painstaking work, his answers coming not only from tracking down leads and clues but (at least in this case) also chance occurrences or a good bit of luck. I did like though that when faced with the murder, the novelty of it made him keen to be ‘in’ on the investigation.

For those bothered by these things as I am, there are two incidents of animal harm—not dwelt upon much, but I felt I should mention them anyway.

Slightly slow moving and not exceptional in terms of its mystery, but still a nice enough GA mystery.

3.75 stars rounded off ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Apr 14, 2019 Anissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense-crime, series, 2019, british-fiction-uk-ireland, british-library-crime-classics

This is the first story I've read with Inspector Meredith and I'm completely out of order in his series. This is book three but I've come to it as part of The British Library Crime Classics (which I'm working my way through & recommend). It's written in such a way that reading the first two books don't seem necessary.

The insane odds of having a murder by arrow shot, in a residential square overflowing with archery enthusiasts (six in all!), was a bit much but it did play out well. Which home is This is the first story I've read with Inspector Meredith and I'm completely out of order in his series. This is book three but I've come to it as part of The British Library Crime Classics (which I'm working my way through & recommend). It's written in such a way that reading the first two books don't seem necessary.

The insane odds of having a murder by arrow shot, in a residential square overflowing with archery enthusiasts (six in all!), was a bit much but it did play out well. Which home is facing the right way? Who was at home or out and about? What was the motive? So many suspects and red herrings and the story still kept a steady pace. It's no tense page-turner as the procedural aspect comes into play but I would say it was more than a serviceable case. The killer carries out two murders before all is said and done and it made for a bit more tension as Meredith and his accompanying officers puzzle over the whole over several weeks.

This reminded me a bit of the short story, A Bit of Wire Pulling by E.C.R. Lorac (featured in The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories by Martin Edwards) in tone and Meredith reminded me of Inspector Lang. I don't know if there are any other Inspector Meredith books in TBLCC but I wouldn't mind coming across him again. Recommended.

Favourite quotes:

“Now then, lads, I want you to think carefully. Don’t answer unless you’re quite sure of your facts. I don’t want any second-hand rumours, see? The point is this—the police have an idea that a member of the club may have slipped off the course during a round of golf and used that as his alibi. Know what an alibi is, eh?” “O’ course,” said a lean, hatchet-faced man.
“It’s when a bloke swears ’e’s in a place when ’e isn’t.” Meredith grinned.

and

Which only goes to show,” said Long in his slow, lugubrious voice, “that things more often than not are not what they appear to be, and what they appear to be, more often than not, they’re not!”
...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 20, 2021 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is my second book with John Bude’s Inspector Meredith, and I like him very much. I’m glad the Reading the Detectives group chose this as our February group read, and another of his books for March. He’s getting to be up there with another favorite discovery, ECR Lorac’s Inspector MacDonald, for the same dry humor, sharp mind, and dogged determination.

In this case, Meredith is visiting a crime writer friend who lives at Regency Square in Cheltenham. At first it appears a prosperous, comforta This is my second book with John Bude’s Inspector Meredith, and I like him very much. I’m glad the Reading the Detectives group chose this as our February group read, and another of his books for March. He’s getting to be up there with another favorite discovery, ECR Lorac’s Inspector MacDonald, for the same dry humor, sharp mind, and dogged determination.

In this case, Meredith is visiting a crime writer friend who lives at Regency Square in Cheltenham. At first it appears a prosperous, comfortable place to live, but Meredith gleans gossip from his host - infidelity, financial woes, neighborly squabbles percolate just beneath the surface. As with any group of people living cheek by jowl in a small enclave, neighbors observe each other’s behavior, speculate about each other’s lives, get on each other’s nerves! A wife leaves her husband, apparently for a rather flashy unmarried resident of the square, and the husband is forced to leave his home in the bucolic square- soon, the flashy Captain Cotton turns up dead! He is visiting a neighbor in the square, Mr. Bullard, a wealthy retired stockbroker, when he is shot through the head with an arrow, loosed apparently from the square.

Meredith, although a visitor, is called in immediately to consult with the local constabulary - Inspector Long, rather than the usual local copper resenting this invasion of his patch, welcomes Meredith’s experience, and the two men make an entertaining team. Long was a great character, I really enjoyed his homespun humor - he was funny, but sharp.

The bizarre murder method would seem to offer a clue, but archery is a hobby among the square’s residents, so it could be several people. Before the detectives can make much headway, Bullard is killed in the same way.

I liked how Bude respected the grind of police work, the repeated questioning of often testy suspects, the endless discussions of the facts, motives, opportunities, and the reality that sometimes, chance plays a role in creating a break in a seemingly hopeless case. Here, among other things, Bude gives us a dead sheep shot through the head with an arrow on a farm outside of town, a nearby golf course with a tricky twelfth hole, a seemingly unrelated raid on a gambling establishment, and a bombastic dog lover who lives in the square and walks her pack of dogs every night like clockwork, same time, same route...(I love how Long fears this witness, but Meredith deals effectively with her!)

A wonderful Golden Age mystery, with a knotty but very satisfying puzzle- even when we know “whodunnit”, Bude respects the fact that the police have to have proof as to the how!

...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2016 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Regency Square in Cheltenham is a quiet refined neighbourhood but like any group of people it has its tensions. There are arguments over a tree which is felt by some to be dangerous and by others to be perfectly safe. One resident is paying too much attention to another resident's young wife. Many of the residents belong to an archery club so when one of the residents is murdered with an arrow it seems somehow appropriate and provides the police with plenty of suspects.

I enjoyed the way the auth ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2020 Amy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: brit-trip, read-as-an-audiobook, 2020

A classic golden age mystery. I'm noticing that I prefer the women writers from that era more than the men because the men never have a romantic subplot and I dearly love a romantic subplot. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 23, 2020 Jacqueline Vick added it · review of another edition

I wish I had read this book when it came out in 1937 before I had read so many mysteries. There were so many great mystery writers back then, that the standard was high. Still, some of the techniques and twist were still new, so they would have provided some thrills. Unfortunately, I've read so many mysteries that the detective's confusion over certain things annoyed me, because in 2020 the answer seemed like common sense. Also, there was a bit of fluffing to complicate the mystery, as in great ...more

Like · see review

Aug 07, 2024 Laura Anne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, british-isles

An arrow loosed across a residential square, through an open window, and into the skull of a neighbour? It's a preposterous set up, but that's what makes it fun. The police are slow to pick up on something obvious, but it was much better than my previous read from Bude the tedious Lake District Murder. ...more

Like · see review