Somebody at the Door (British Library Crime Classics)

by Raymond Postgate

'The death was an odd one, it was true; but there was after all no very clear reason to assume it was anything but natural.' In the winter of 1942, England lies cold and dark in the wartime blackout. One bleak evening, Councillor Grayling steps off the 6.12 from Euston, carrying GBP120 in cash, and oblivious to the fate that awaits him in the snow-covered suburbs. Inspector Holly draws up a list of Grayling's fellow passengers: his distrusted employee Charles Evetts, the charming Hugh Rolandson, and an unknown refugee from Nazi Germany, among others. Inspector Holly will soon discover that each passenger harbours their own dark secrets, and that the councillor had more than one enemy among them. First published in 1943, Raymond Postgate's wartime murder mystery combines thrilling detection with rich characters and a fascinating depiction of life on the home front.

• ISBN10: 1448214297
• ISBN13: 9781448214297
• Publish Date: 17 June 2014 (first published 18 March 1976)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Reader
• Format: eBook (Deckle Edge)
• Pages: 1
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Somebody at the Door is a re-release of a 1943 mystery by golden age classic author Raymond Postgate. Published in the new reformatted edition by Poisoned Pen press 5th December, 2017, it's available in ebook and paperback formats.

I've really enjoyed all of the British Library Crime Classics I've read, and this one is no exception. The characters are well written and though the dialogue does show its age somewhat (it's almost 75 years old), it suits its period perfectly well. The plotting is a bit uneven in places and I found my interest wandering a little bit occasionally. There was copious backstory provided for each of the suspects and I was never entirely sure it was necessary. On the other hand, there's a lot of pleasure in golden age mystery which develops slowly to a satisfying denouement.

I read this book immediately after Postgate's earlier book also in the crime classics series, Verdict of Twelve, and for me, at least, it suffers technically by comparison to the earlier work. The writing in Somebody at the Door is good, but Verdict of Twelve was masterful.

There is light cursing ('damn' and a few 'bloody' type curses), but nothing to dismay or offend the average reader. There is also one scene with a description of a female breast, but nothing to scandalize there, either.

Worth a read. I really enjoyed it. It's rare to find a good solid standalone these days, and that's a shame. I'm finding it more and more necessary to go back to the classics for standalone mystery entertainment.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.