Jack Haldean Murder Mystery

4 total works

Mad About The Boy?

by Dolores Gordon-Smith

Published 1 January 2008

It's the height of summer 1923 and Isabelle's parents are celebrating their Silver Wedding with a ball at their country house, Hesperus, in Sussex. Isabelle has a problem: two men, the glamorous, earnest Malcolm and the quiet, troubled Arthur are in love with her, but worry is soon replaced by tragedy. One of the guests apparently commits suicide at the ball. Jack Haldean, the hero of "A Fete Worse Than Death", thinks it's murder, but everything is thrown into chaos when a group of Russian Revolutionaries become involved in the affair. In a case involving deception, greed, jealousy, kidnap, torture and more murder, Jack faces an agonizing choice on his journey to the truth - a journey which will change Isabelle's life forever.

As If by Magic

by Dolores Gordon-Smith

Published 1 January 2009

George Lassiter is destitute, ill and desperate. Desperate enough to break into the kitchen of a stranger's house for warmth, food and shelter. And there, on that bitterly cold night in 1922, he witnesses a murder, the murder of a beautiful girl. But where's the body? When the police search the house they find nothing. It's vanished, as if by magic. It's nothing but a hallucination born of delirium, say the police. And reluctantly, George is forced to agree. Even his friend and rescuer Jack Haldean believes it's a nightmare but the consequences of that nightmare will plunge Jack into a tangle of theft, lies and obsession as George hunts for his inheritance - and Jack hunts a ruthless killer. Praise for Dolores Gordon-Smith: 'A classic post-war country house mystery with a Christie-like denoument' - Kirkus reviews. 'Recaptures the vitality and insouciance of the Golden Age writers' - Robert Barnard. 'Gordon-Smith's clean-cut hero plays a straight bat...to be read while eating strawberries and listening to a brass band' - "Saga Magazine". 'A spectacular debut...Jack Haldean is a very welcome addition to the annals of crime fiction...Mrs Gordon-Smith is at the beginning of a distinguished career as a crime writer' - "Tangled Web".

Forgotten Murder

by Dolores Gordon-Smith

Published 30 November 2018

Jack Haldean's newly-wedded bliss is disrupted by a series of shocking revelations in this gripping historical mystery.

When an old schoolfriend of Jack's wife Betty witnesses a disturbing vision in the garden of a smart suburban house, Jack is intrigued. Just what did Jenny Langton see beneath the cedar tree at Saunder's Green that frightened her so much she fainted on the spot?

Jack's subsequent enquiries stir up a hornet's nest of repressed emotions and long-buried secrets. What exactly happened at Saunder's Green almost twenty years before - and why will no one talk about it? As he unearths evidence of a possible murder, how is even a seasoned investigator like Jack supposed to solve a crime that took place two decades before with no tangible clues, no reliable witnesses - and at least one person who is determined to stop him discovering the truth . whatever it takes.

The Chapel in the Woods

by Dolores Gordon-Smith

Published 30 December 2021

Jack and Betty Haldean's weekend in the country is disrupted by sudden, violent death in this intricately-plotted 1920s mystery.

"The surprising revelations just keep coming. This is a real treat for those who enjoy Agatha Christie village murders" - Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"There's something in those woods that shouldn't be there . . ."

Enjoying a weekend in the country with his cousin Isabelle, Jack Haldean is intrigued to learn that the neighbouring estate of Birchen Bower has been bought by wealthy Canadian businessman Tom Jago. Determined to restore the place to its former glory, Jago has invited the local villagers to a fete to celebrate the grand re-opening of the 17th century family chapel.

But the afternoon's entertainment is cut short by the discovery of a body, mauled to death as if by a wild animal. Previously owned by the eccentric Cayden family, Birchen Bower has a long and colourful history, and is rumoured to be haunted. Is there any truth to the ancient family legend of the Jaguar Princess . . . and could she have claimed another victim? And what's happened to Jago's employee, Derek Martin and his wife, who have disappeared without trace . . . along with Mrs Jago's diamonds?

Refusing to believe the wild tales of man-eating beasts prowling the grounds, Jack sets out to uncover the truth. But then a second badly-ravaged body is discovered . . . Could the rumours be true after all?