Murder Room
23 total works
There was blood on the drawing-room floor and Hazel Deerhurst had disappeared wearing slippers over walking shoes, two pairs of stockings and a bright silk kimono.
First investigations shed interesting light on Hazel. A mysterious machine is found at her home, some paintings and a cryptic telegram. She was also secretary to a man whose secrets involved the future of the empire. Is she victim or villainess?
'JJ Connington stories are always attractive' TheSunday Times
'Mr J. J. Connington is a name revered by all specialists on detective fiction' Spectator
When Oswald F. Preston is shot dead on the 10.35 local train from Horston, two obvious suspects are immediately in the frame: his wife's lover and an employer with a grudge. With red herrings a-plenty, and a number of other contenders for murderer, including a young heiress, Superintendant Ross has his work cut out for him.
Thief, criminal and probably a coward, would Hyson have had the courage to kill himself or did someone catch up with him? Did his death have anything to do with Mrs Telford, who committed suicide shortly before?
The Inspector, anticipating a routine investigation, finds conflicting stories, poison pen letters, and damning information about Hyson. It takes Sir Clinton Driffield to untangle the case and prove that the cast-iron alibi is the one which should arouse suspicion.
Philip Castleford was more than worried. Were all those years he had spent attending to Winifred's whims, enduring her habits, to count for nothing? He hadn't minded it too much for he thought that his daughter Hilary would have security - but now he found her shabbily treated and his own position undermined by his wife's grasping brothers.
Such were the affairs at Carron Hill one fine morning when Winifred was discovered murdered in the deserted summer house ...
'Mr J. J. Connington is a name revered by all specialists on detective fiction' Spectator
In the fourth Sir Clinton Driffield mystery, the detective finds himself up against a missing heir, an accidental bigamist, a series of secret marriages and impersonations and an ingenious scientific murder. Aided by his wit and powers of reasoning, as well as Wendover, his very own Watson, Sir Clinton once again succeeds in piecing together a solution as the novel reaches its thrilling climax.
When two corpses are found in a small English village, all who have a go at solving the crime are completely baffled, and spur the local Chief Constable to investigating. Local gossip, blackmail and a family feud form the ingredients that point towards the perpetrator ...
'A top-notch murder yarn that is guaranteed to leave its readers baffled until the 11th hour' Boston Herald
Nine men formed a sweepstake syndicate. One man died. To forestall legal argument they agreed that only living members should share any winnings. They won £241,920. And then the deadly arithmetic began.
Nine less one left eight shares worth £30,240; Eight less one left seven shares worth £34,560; Seven less one left six shares worth £40,320; Six less one left five shares worth £48,384. Who was killing for profit? And who would be left to collect?
'Mr J. J. Connington is a name revered by all specialists on detective fiction' Spectator
In Clinton Driffield's second case he must tangle with a plethora of crimes including robbery, murder and a disappearance - not to mention a Family Curse, and a less than sympathetic victim ...
In this, the tenth Clinton Driffield mystery, the action moves away from a country setting to the English suburbs, inhabited by a cast of unusual diversity: an ambitious young policeman, a naive journalist, an elderly clerk with dreams of foreign travel and an unhappily married Frenchwoman.
This meticulously clued mystery shows Connington at his compelling best and ends with a satisfying flourish.
It was not altogether surprising that Ambrose Brenthurst was found brutally murdered outside Fountain Court the night he had presided over the diner meeting of the 'Hernshaw Thirteen Club'.
Many were the potential murderers - some of them guests at the diner. But when a second murder takes place it precipitates a crisis in which investigator Sir Clinton Driffield must penetrate a maze of conflicting evidence to spot the murderer.
Every Sunday on Radio Ardennes, the Counsellor had his hour. His voice clear, expressive and sympathetic as it answered a selection of the queries that crowded his post-bag.
'Just ask a question' was his motto. But even he did not expect Wallace Whatgift to ask for his help in solving the mysterious disappearance of a young woman.
Hubbard made his money in blackmail, most detestable blackmail at that. A wealthy, lisping butterfly collector, there were no special regrets when he was found dead at his desk in his own home. Yet Colonel Sanderstead felt it his duty to probe the affair, since his nephew's best friends had very good reason to wish Hubbard dead.
His investigation, as it turns out, would never have solved the case, but it leads to an amazing confession ...
The Constable was content to call it a suicide pact. All the evidence was there. The bodies of John Barratt and Mrs Callis were discovered in a lovers' nook among some bracken.
Beside them was a pistol with Barratt's fingerprints on it, and torn up letters in the handwriting of Barratt and Mrs Callis were scattered around. Arrangements for the elopement had apparently been complete. Why had their plans fallen through? Why had they turned their backs on the railway station with tickets to London in their pockets?
Sir Clinton Driffield is not so sure that the obvious solution is the right one ...
When Pickford's body was found hanging from a beam in his garage, Inspector Loxton was sure that it was a case of suicide following a series of financial and domestic worries.
Then came the criminologist with his slogan, 'Common sense is all you need', and in ten minutes he upset the inspector's hypothesis. Further evidence pointed so clearly in one direction that the arrest and the conviction of the criminal seemed almost a matter of form.
But both the Inspector and the expert are way off course, and it is left to the Chief Constable to clear up the mystery ...
'Mr Connington has the art of writing delightful detective novels' Baltimore Evening Sun
A young couple, the Trents, arrive on the lonely islet of Ruffa - where a large house has been lent to them for part of their honeymoon - and stumble upon mystery.
Gold is being exported from Ruffa in quantity. Where does it come from? From the Armada wreck in the bay? Or from some old Norseman's hoard like the Traprain Law treasure. Or has the other tenant discovered the secret of making gold? The Trents are set on a surprising course to find out ...
When recently exhumed church relics are stolen from a small English village the theft is quickly followed by four murders.
The joint inheritance of a piece of property supplies a motive but the cause of death is mystery. Cue Sir Clinton Driffield, who investigates and makes an on-the-spot arrest of the culprits and their super-scientific death machine.
'J.J. Connington's stories are always attractive' Sunday Times
An unidentified body is found in a blazing car. A man in the locality is missing. But the corpse in the car is not that of the missing man, though someone has made an uncommonly thorough job of faking it to seem so.
And just because his unknown opponent had gone to such lengths to prevent an investigation going further, Detective Mark Brand aka The Counsellor's 'satiable curiosity' is up ...
'As a maker of watertight puzzles Mr Connington has no superior' Daily Mail
In the first place there was the Dangerfield Talisman, an ancient golden armlet set with diamonds and valued at $50,000 - an unguarded treasure, which, although stolen more than once, always came back. Second was the Dangerfield Secret.
The last thief of the talisman has been found on the lawn of Old Rollo Dangerfield's home, dead of a heart attack. And in unearthing the mystery a whole series of bewildering complications unfolds ...
'Specially ingenious' Observer
'Mr J. J. Connington is a name revered by all specialists on detective fiction' Spectator
When Sir Clinton Driffield travels to the village of Raynham Parva to visit his sister, he little imagines that his latest case will involve his own family. His niece has married an Argentinian, and the village is soon filled with exotic incomers, one of whom appears to have been a foreign agent.
This unusual case presents Sir Clinton with three interlocking mysteries, which lead to a startling conclusion.
'Mr J. J. Connington is a name revered by all specialists on detective fiction' Spectator
When a locum doctor is called out one foggy night to a case of scarlet fever, he mistakes one house for another and discovers a young man lying in a pool of blood, who manages to choke out a dying message.
This intriguing clue-laden third case for Sir Clinton Driffield has its origin in a dark scheme that reveals as much about the means for murder as its motivation.