ABANDONED. Detective story set in British? colony, 1880–1945. Host found murdered in home with exotic dagger/sabre (was mounted on wall). Read in 1963. Spoiler ahead.

[Nick_142]

The story takes place in a (British?) colony. The host of a house was found murdered with an exotic dagger or sabre, that had been mounted on a wall and difficult to reach. There were many suspects. The less suspect was an ex-army officer (major?) who had been wheelchair-bound for many years and until the end of the story he was helping the detective with enthusiasm in the investigation.
I read the story in 1963, translated in a Greek magazine booklet. It was no more than 60 pages, but it could have been an abridged novel. I can’t remember the writer or many plot details. I think the writer was British.

[Kris]

Nick_142, can you describe the detective and how s/he became involved in the investigation?

[Nick_142]

Kris wrote: "Nick_142, can you describe the detective and how s/he became involved in the investigation?"
Thank you for your answer.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember the detective at all. He could have been a genius local police officer, maybe an Englishman maybe not. Probably, the story took place in India or Burma (less probably in Africa). I faintly remember that there were tigers, jungle and tropical climate. The weapon was a very peculiar and a traditional one. If I can reveal the murderer, even though it is almost obvious, it was the eager to help ex-army officer and that is the only thing that I remember with absolute certainty. The time period during which the action takes place is between 1880 – 1945.

[Kris]

Thanks. I added some plot details to the topic header, so your book might be recognized from the header alone. Feel free to update it by clicking the small "edit" link after the header. This only works on the full Desktop website – not the Mobile website or app.

[Jennifer]

Sounds like a story Somerset Maugham might have written. Let me think about it and see if I can narrow it down further. And, interestingly, Maugham's collected stories were published in 1963 -- is it possible you read them when they came out?

[Nick_142]

Jennifer wrote: "Sounds like a story Somerset Maugham might have written. Let me think about it and see if I can narrow it down further. And, interestingly, Maugham's collected stories were published in 1963 -- is ..."

Thank you for your reply. It is certainly possible. The major bookstores in Athens obtained foreign language books in no time. The magazine, in which I read the story, was published by Yannis Maris, the “father” of Greek detective fiction, who was well acquainted with current international crime fiction and literature in general. His wife was a translator and she could have promptly translated the story.

[Kris]

Nick_142, please post a new comment if you're still looking for this book - or if you found it.

Nick_142 (OP) was last active on the site in July 2020. Moving to Abandoned folder.