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Checkmate to Murder (Robert MacDonald #25)

E.C.R. Lorac,

Martin Edwards (Introduction)

Start date: August 1, 2021

Finish date: August 31, 2021

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: Winner of the poll for our August group read.
[close] Winner of the poll for our August group read.

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Group reads

* Nominations for November 2025 group read
By Judy · 18 posts · 21 views

last updated Sep 05, 2025 03:20PM

* Sept 25: Lonesome Road (#3 Miss Silver Mysteries) by Patricia Wentworth
By Susan · 13 posts · 11 views

last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:03PM

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What Members Thought

Jul 14, 2021 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This mystery was published in 1944 and is set during WWII, so has a really authentic feel to it. Bruce Manaton, artist, is living in a shabby studio, with his put upon sister, Roseanne. One evening, he is painting the actor, Bruce Manaton, in his role as a Cardinal, while Roseanne prepares a meal and two other men, Robert Cavendish and Ian Mackennon are playing chess. The blackout holds the group in darkness, while flickering lights throw shadows around the room, when there is a knocking on the ...more

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Jul 15, 2021 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, tbr-with-gr-groups, audiobook

4.5 stars - This was another great mystery from Lorac, starring her intelligent, methodical, and compassionate Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard.

The mystery is very well done, with plenty of twists and turns, a wonderfully evoked wintry London setting, with the blackouts, rationing and destruction of WWII playing a vital role. Lorac is very good at creating intriguing characters, intricate puzzles, and especially creating a setting readers can truly sink into and feel! Her descriptions of bom 4.5 stars - This was another great mystery from Lorac, starring her intelligent, methodical, and compassionate Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard.

The mystery is very well done, with plenty of twists and turns, a wonderfully evoked wintry London setting, with the blackouts, rationing and destruction of WWII playing a vital role. Lorac is very good at creating intriguing characters, intricate puzzles, and especially creating a setting readers can truly sink into and feel! Her descriptions of bombed-out properties, inky dark, cold January nights during the blackout, and the camaraderie of the local pub, and the surrounding denizens, keeping an eye on each other, bucking each other up to get through another day, like this novel’s cheery Cockney char lady, Mrs. Tubbs, are engrossing. I can’t help wondering if modern Londoners, reading this, could imagine the current residents getting through such an ordeal with such a positive attitude! Greatest generation indeed.

This mystery opens on a cold winter night at an artist’s studio; a very disparate group have gathered to either pose or paint, or play chess, and all have brought a contribution from their meager rations to the communal meal, being prepared by the artist’s sister. Suddenly a special constable bangs at the door, demanding entry and assistance - he has a prisoner with him, a young Canadian soldier caught in the house next door- he was standing beside the bed of the old man who lived there. The old man has been shot dead, and the constable assumes the young man did it - he tried to flee, but swears he didn’t do it - the old man was his great-uncle, and he was visiting.

As soon as the pros are called in, Macdonald and his team, the story begins to change - there are several promising leads, and they follow them all. Some are dead ends, others are red herrings - but there is never a dull moment! I always enjoy accompanying Macdonald and Reeves as they interview witnesses and gather information; they meet such interesting people, and it’s a pleasure to sit in on the conversations. They are both such decent and compassionate, yet tireless investigators; as Macdonald observes after talking to a chatty, friendly, elderly pub keeper in chapter 9:

…as was often the case during an investigation, Macdonald seemed to happen across “side-shows,”which had entertainment value apart from the information he collected. Mrs. Blossom in her parlor was just such a side show, and the recollection of her would enliven Macdonald‘s meditations during many a subsequent leisure moment…

He is one of the most admirable and likable detectives I’ve ever come across, and I’m so glad Lorac’s books are being republished- she deserves to be read. My only suggestion would be read, don’t listen to the audiobook if the narrator doesn’t work for you. It is David Thorpe, who I have listened to and enjoyed on several other mysteries, but he doesn’t always work for me, some of his accent choices, or the pitch of his voice for some characters, can be annoying and distracting. But if you like golden age mysteries, or just well-written, atmospheric mysteries, and get the chance to read Lorac, please give her a try. I have read several through Scribd and my library, or purchasing the beautiful British Library Crime Classics paperbacks, and she is now one of my favorite authors. ...more

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Jul 03, 2015 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, bought-2015, mystery, vintage-mystery, mount-tbr-2016

It's the early 1940s. London. A fog-shrouded night with windows draped in black-out curtains or
painted over to meet the black-out standards. In Bruce Manaton's barn-like studio, the hush of the fog seems to seep in and focus the concentration of the oddly-assorted group gathered for the evening. Bruce, a talented but as of yet unsuccessful artist, is fully focused on his latest painting--a portrait of a man in the scarlet robes of a Cardinal. The model for this work is Andre Delaunier, an equall It's the early 1940s. London. A fog-shrouded night with windows draped in black-out curtains or
painted over to meet the black-out standards. In Bruce Manaton's barn-like studio, the hush of the fog seems to seep in and focus the concentration of the oddly-assorted group gathered for the evening. Bruce, a talented but as of yet unsuccessful artist, is fully focused on his latest painting--a portrait of a man in the scarlet robes of a Cardinal. The model for this work is Andre Delaunier, an equally talented and unsuccessful actor, who holds his pose with the import of Shakespearean drama. At the other end of the room, Robert Cavenish, a thoroughly respectable Home Office man, and Ian MacKellon, a brilliant chemist somehow connected with the war effort, are thoroughly engrossed in a game of chess. Moving in and out from the kitchen just beyond, Rosanne Manaton, the artist's sister, prepares dinner and runs her own artistic eye over the tableau. Outside, muffled by the fog are various warning signals and other noises. Among them a shot?

For next door, the Manatons' miserly landlord, Albert Folliner, is shot to death in his sitting/bedroom and apparently robbed of his miser's stash. The Special Constable who has been on his nightly rounds comes bursting into the Manatons' lodging dragging a young Canadian soldier as prisoner. The soldier is Neil Folliner, the nephew of the slain man, and the Special Constable swears he has caught the man red-handed. But Scotland Yard sends Inspector Macdonald to take over the case and when he has finished taking statements, examining the premises--both the studio and the landlord's rooms, and following up the clues that escaped the constable's nervous eyes, he finds that all may not be as straight forward as it seems. For instance--if the constable came upon Neil Folliner after the crime was committed, why have the former's footprints been overlaid by the latter's? And what happened to the loot? And is Mrs. Tubbs really just the jolly cockney charwoman that she seems to be? And what about those previous tenants of the studio?

As I told John from Pretty Sinister Books (who tried to warn me away from this one), I must have a thing for Lorac's fog-shrouded, black-out-centered mysteries, because I thoroughly enjoyed her Checkmate to Murder (1944). Inspector MacDonald is a very thorough yet very human policeman. He is never quick to judge and he has a way of seeing everything--even the things the witnesses and suspects think they've hidden properly. The mystery is fairly clued--maybe too fairly, because I figured this one out. Not absolutely every little detail, but enough that I'm calling it a win for Inspector Bev.

But figuring out the solution fairly early didn't detract from my enjoyment. The characters are well-drawn and Mrs.Tubbs, Folliner's charwoman; Mrs. Stanton, whose garden backs up against the "murder house' and studio; Mrs. Blossum, the owner of the Green Dragon pub; and Bert Brewer, a rheumatic gardener all add a good bit of local period color to the proceedings. ★★★★ for a highly enjoyable wartime mystery.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks. ...more

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May 15, 2021 Shabbeer Hassan rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, 2021, whodunit, brit-lit, police-procedural, mystery, 2025

A good whodunit especially a locked room mystery is a rare treat and this one by Lorac fits the bill perfectly. With the dependable DCI MacDonald at the helm, the mystery which at first looks impossible is peeled off one layer at a time, and, David Thorpe bringing out the best of Highlander accent!

My rating - 4.5/5

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Nov 15, 2021 Amy rated it liked it

Shelves: brit-trip, read-as-an-audiobook, 2021

Completely improbable and yet still charming in that "golden age mystery" way. ...more

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May 26, 2023 Teri-K rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, historical-mystery

This is my first book by this author, and it wasn't a problem to jump into the series this far down the line. I love mysteries set in the Golden Age, except for when they leave me cold. The problem is I read books for the characters first, and many writers were only focused on giving the reader a good puzzle. That doesn't work for me, so when I try a new mystery writer from that period I keep my expectations low. This book worked pretty well.

I liked the setting, WWII London in a poor part of tow ...more

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Oct 09, 2022 Jessica marked it as to-read

Shelves: fiction, detective, golden-age-mystery

Heard of author from Slightly Foxed podcast, Episode 33: The Golden Age of Crime Writing ...more

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Jan 31, 2023 Laura Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, british-isles, world-war-ii

Lorac is becoming a “new” favorite Golden Age of Detection author for me; well-drawn characters and atmospheric settings with play-fair clues. The murder method in this one is implausible. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to reading more. ...more

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May 28, 2021 Annarella rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: edelweiss, golden-age-mystery

Not the best Lorac's mystery but a good one even if a bit too slow. An interesting description of life during wartime
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine ...more

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