Below the Clock by J. V. Turner

Below the Clock

by J. V. Turner

A classic Golden Age detective novel set at the heart of Westminster, when the murder of the Chancellor of the Exchequer threatens to topple the whole House of Cards…

Many highly dramatic and historic scenes have been enacted below the clock of Big Ben, but none more sensational than on that April afternoon when, before the eyes of a chamber crowded to capacity for the Budget Speech, the Chancellor fell headlong to the floor with a resounding crash. For the first time a murder had been committed in the House of Commons itself – and Amos Petrie faced the toughest case of his career.

In Below the Clock, John Victor Turner – a journalist who as David Hume had become known as ‘the new Edgar Wallace’ for creating Britain’s first hardboiled detective series – returned to classic Golden Age writing with an ingenious whodunit set at the heart of the establishment, a novel that did the unthinkable by turning Parliament into a crime scene and all its Members into murder suspects.

This Detective Club classic is introduced by David Brawn, who looks at the distinguished crime-writing career of J. V. Turner and his alter egos Nicholas Brady and David Hume, who achieved remarkable success with nearly 50 books in only 14 years.

Reviewed by brokentune on

4 of 5 stars

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THE House of Commons has its moments.
Ascot bends a fashionable knee to hail Gold Cup Day with an elegant genuflection, Henley hesitates between pride and sophistication to welcome the Regatta, Epsom bustles with democratic fervour as Derby day approaches, Cowes bows with dignified grace as curving yachts carve another niche in her temple of fame, Aintree wakens and waves to saints and sinners on Grand National day, and Wimbledon wallows for a week in a racket of rackets.
The House of Commons has its Budget Day …

What a fabulous mystery to read when life calls for some lighthearted, yet clever, diversion.

The mystery itself tells of the Chancellor of the Exchequer collapsing dead in the House of Commons just when he is about to announce the new budget.

I'm not sure what I loved more, the atmosphere of the story, the lighthearted (yet far from silly) tone of the writing, or the fact that literally every MP is a suspect in the first few chapters.

I have some issues with the murder method, or rather, the police's suspected substance, but this has in no way jarred my enjoyment of this book. (It might have if the rest of the story had been less well developed.)

(And as this seems to be book # 7 in a series, it seems there are other books by the author to look forward to.)

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  • Started reading
  • 14 April, 2019: Finished reading
  • 14 April, 2019: Reviewed