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Robert Macdonald #12
These Names Make Clues
‘Should detectives go to parties? Was it consistent with the dignity of the Yard? The inspector tossed for it—and went.’Chief Inspector Macdonald has been invited to a treasure hunt party at the house of Graham Coombe, the celebrated publisher of Murder by Mesmerism. Despite a handful of misgivings, the inspector joins a guestlist of novelists and thriller writers disguised on the night under literary pseudonyms. The fun comes to an abrupt end, however, when ‘Samuel Pepys’ is found dead in the telephone room in bizarre circumstances.Amidst the confusion of too many fake names, clues, ciphers and convoluted alibis, Macdonald and his allies in the CID must unravel a truly tangled case in this metafictional masterpiece, which returns to print for the first time since its publication in 1937.
254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1937
139 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
About the author
E.C.R. Lorac
78 books181 followersEdith Caroline Rivett (who wrote under the pseudonyms E.C.R. Lorac, Carol Carnac, Carol Rivett, and Mary le Bourne) was a British crime writer. She was born in Hendon, Middlesex (now London). She attended the South Hampstead High School, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London.
She was a member of the Detection Club. She was a very prolific writer, having written forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second. She was an important author of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
She was a member of the Detection Club. She was a very prolific writer, having written forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second. She was an important author of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
May 13, 2022
E.C.R. Lorac deserves much broader readership and recognition from mystery readers - particularly those who love traditional English mysteries - than she has. But Poisoned Pen Press has brought several of her many novels to light in the last couple of years and I'm enjoying devouring them as they are released.
Chief Inspector Macdonald is a perfect lead. He's rational, straightforward, no-drama, no personal details or trauma. No unhappy marriage or fighting with a silly and confused superior officer. Just solid police work, and a lot of listening to witnesses before drawing his conclusions. These Names Make Clues is the 12th in the series, but even though Macdonald is a recurring character, this series doesn't require reading the entries in series order. The problem is, this simply isn't one of Lorac's best. The mystery is convoluted but not particularly interesting. There are too many characters, if you include the landlords and other fact witnesses along the way. Notwithstanding the title, readers don't actually have enough clues to figure out what's going on until it's explained at the end.
Having said that, "not one of Lorac's best" is still highly entertaining and far better than many contemporary mysteries. So, if you're already a Lorac fan, you're likely to enjoy this one. If you haven't yet read her, don't start here, but read it fourth or fifth and you'll similarly be entertained. My two recommended starting reads are, Fell Murder and Checkmate to Murder.
Chief Inspector Macdonald is a perfect lead. He's rational, straightforward, no-drama, no personal details or trauma. No unhappy marriage or fighting with a silly and confused superior officer. Just solid police work, and a lot of listening to witnesses before drawing his conclusions. These Names Make Clues is the 12th in the series, but even though Macdonald is a recurring character, this series doesn't require reading the entries in series order. The problem is, this simply isn't one of Lorac's best. The mystery is convoluted but not particularly interesting. There are too many characters, if you include the landlords and other fact witnesses along the way. Notwithstanding the title, readers don't actually have enough clues to figure out what's going on until it's explained at the end.
Having said that, "not one of Lorac's best" is still highly entertaining and far better than many contemporary mysteries. So, if you're already a Lorac fan, you're likely to enjoy this one. If you haven't yet read her, don't start here, but read it fourth or fifth and you'll similarly be entertained. My two recommended starting reads are, Fell Murder and Checkmate to Murder.
March 23, 2023
Lorac is a newfound author of detective fiction I've come to like so much. I've read several installments in the Chief Inspector Robert MacDonald series which I enjoyed. I can, therefore, say with honesty that this particular novel in the series is not one of her best. It may be because this one is one of the earliest in the series, for as the installments progressed, the quality of Lorac's detective fiction improves. This is what I've observed.
However, this is not to say that I didn't enjoy this novel; on the contrary, I did, especially the first two-thirds. It's the ending third that didn't work well with me, and which affected the rating.
This specific story reminded me of Dead Man's Folly by our Queen of Mysteries, Agatha Christie. I'm not sure who has the first claim to the idea of murder at a treasure hunt, but it may have been a popular concept for detective fiction at the time. Nevertheless, my reaction to the idea is somewhat poor judging by my rating of Agatha Christie. Similarly, I wasn't too enthralled with the idea here.
The title These Name Makes Clues gives the idea that we hunt for clues in the names, but till towards the end, I didn't know which names would have given the clues - places or people. When I understood that it was people's, my enthusiasm for playing the detective vanished. In any case, even if I'd known, I wouldn't have succeeded at keeping track of all the names and pseudonyms. I usually expect to be allowed to play the detective when reading detective fiction, so I felt a little bit cheated here. :)
Nevertheless, it had its good points. It was action-packed and fast-paced. It also had a touch of hilarity, especially the parts where an inquisitive journalist put his nose and meddles in the business. :)
Overall, though not one of Lorac's best, it's entertaining in its own right.
More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/
However, this is not to say that I didn't enjoy this novel; on the contrary, I did, especially the first two-thirds. It's the ending third that didn't work well with me, and which affected the rating.
This specific story reminded me of Dead Man's Folly by our Queen of Mysteries, Agatha Christie. I'm not sure who has the first claim to the idea of murder at a treasure hunt, but it may have been a popular concept for detective fiction at the time. Nevertheless, my reaction to the idea is somewhat poor judging by my rating of Agatha Christie. Similarly, I wasn't too enthralled with the idea here.
The title These Name Makes Clues gives the idea that we hunt for clues in the names, but till towards the end, I didn't know which names would have given the clues - places or people. When I understood that it was people's, my enthusiasm for playing the detective vanished. In any case, even if I'd known, I wouldn't have succeeded at keeping track of all the names and pseudonyms. I usually expect to be allowed to play the detective when reading detective fiction, so I felt a little bit cheated here. :)
Nevertheless, it had its good points. It was action-packed and fast-paced. It also had a touch of hilarity, especially the parts where an inquisitive journalist put his nose and meddles in the business. :)
Overall, though not one of Lorac's best, it's entertaining in its own right.
More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/
August 11, 2022
A bit of a confusing mess of a read (in my opinion)
With it's dual names, a distinct lack of MacDonald and a clumsy plot all add up to my least favourite Lorac.
With it's dual names, a distinct lack of MacDonald and a clumsy plot all add up to my least favourite Lorac.
September 27, 2021
3.5 stars - a whodunnit involving a murder at a treasure hunt in a London House, some fine word play and a bit of sleuthing by Inspector McDonald.
It’s a fine and almost Christie-ish set up (think Cards on the table or Dead Man’s Folly) but sadly not quite as well executed. As always, I love ECR’s writing, but this just didn’t feel quite as atmospheric as most of her other books that I’ve read.
There’s a fair cast of characters, and you’re introduced to them all by their pseudonyms in the treasure hunt, which really doesn’t help you get to know them at the start of the book. You also spend relatively little time following McDonald - which left me feeling like the reader wasn’t in on the detection.
It was an relatively enjoyable read and a great idea, but I don’t think one of ECR’s greatest.
It’s a fine and almost Christie-ish set up (think Cards on the table or Dead Man’s Folly) but sadly not quite as well executed. As always, I love ECR’s writing, but this just didn’t feel quite as atmospheric as most of her other books that I’ve read.
There’s a fair cast of characters, and you’re introduced to them all by their pseudonyms in the treasure hunt, which really doesn’t help you get to know them at the start of the book. You also spend relatively little time following McDonald - which left me feeling like the reader wasn’t in on the detection.
It was an relatively enjoyable read and a great idea, but I don’t think one of ECR’s greatest.
July 4, 2025
Publishing magnate Graham Coombe invites a group of his authors to a party with a treasure hunt in which they vie to be the one to solve it. Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald gets added to round out the grouping in which each contestant sports a literary pseudonym. Needless to say, one of the contestants, a particularly disagreeable author, gets murdered. (Would there be a book otherwise?)
Author E.C.R. Lorac has created an extremely interesting puzzle in a novel peopled with believable characters. But the ending just struck me as so contrived that only a bumbling journalist’s misstep enables Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald to solve the murder. Not up to Lorac’s usual high standards.
Author E.C.R. Lorac has created an extremely interesting puzzle in a novel peopled with believable characters. But the ending just struck me as so contrived that only a bumbling journalist’s misstep enables Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald to solve the murder. Not up to Lorac’s usual high standards.
July 16, 2022
Започва много интересно със събиране в един дом за лов на съкровище. Всички трябва да са с псевдоними и да не се познават помежду си. В групичката има писатели, интелигенти и един инспектор от полицията на Скотланд Ярд. Те трябва да решат ребусите, анаграмите, кръстословиците и да следват следите из цялата къща, като се състезават помежду си за находчивост, бързина и ум. Вечерта ще приключи неочаквано с едно убийство, което събужда въображението на всички участници. Инспекторът трябва да разбере кой е убил госта, следвайки своите умозаключения.
Някъде по средата малко ми доскуча и трудно следях размишленията на героите. Това е третата от поредицата, която чета и тази ми допадна най-много. Стилът е по описателен и разяснява всяка стъпка и мисъл на действащите лица, иска повече разсъждения при четенето. Романът е за почитателите на ретро кримки.
Някъде по средата малко ми доскуча и трудно следях размишленията на героите. Това е третата от поредицата, която чета и тази ми допадна най-много. Стилът е по описателен и разяснява всяка стъпка и мисъл на действащите лица, иска повече разсъждения при четенето. Романът е за почитателите на ретро кримки.
October 2, 2021
3.5 stars for this early mystery featuring my favorite C.I.D. man, Chief Inspector Macdonald of Scotland Yard. We are still several years away from the start of WWII; what political talk appears in the story is almost philosophical in nature, and has nothing substantive to do with the actual mystery.
As the blurb describes it: Chief Inspector Macdonald has been invited to a treasure hunt party at the house of Graham Coombe, the celebrated publisher of "Murder by Mesmerism". Despite a handful of misgivings, the inspector joins a guestlist of novelists and thriller writers disguised on the night under literary pseudonyms.
Macdonald is shown enjoying himself, solving treasure hunt clues, chatting with fellow guests; right up to the moment the very dead body of one of the guests is discovered. Then he's all business. The dead person was not known to any of the other guests, or so they say during the interviews. Tracking everyone's movements was made difficult by the unexpected electrical blackout before the body was discovered. (Yes, the author made use of this well-worn plot device and did a good job with it).
The plot is further complicated by another murder, with definite ties to the first.
I loved all the twists and turns--Macdonald was very clever, of course. And he was ably assisted by two of his regular subordinates: Reeves and Jenkins.
What kept this from being a 4 star read for me was Macdonald's long absence from the pages during the last third of the book. I thought we spent too much time running around the countryside with journalist Peter Vernon, and several of the party guests. The author, however, needed some way to show the reader what the various party guests were doing and thinking. The story is very fast-paced, with all the action taking place in several days.
I gave up trying to figure out 'whodunnit', though the 'why' was fairly obvious, and Macdonald figured out the 'how' almost immediately. I just kept reading, knowing that all would be explained by the end. I was right about that, and quite satisfied with the explanations.
Be sure to read Martin Edwards' (non-spoiler)introduction, which talks of Lorac's early career and her involvement with the Detection Club.
As the blurb describes it: Chief Inspector Macdonald has been invited to a treasure hunt party at the house of Graham Coombe, the celebrated publisher of "Murder by Mesmerism". Despite a handful of misgivings, the inspector joins a guestlist of novelists and thriller writers disguised on the night under literary pseudonyms.
Macdonald is shown enjoying himself, solving treasure hunt clues, chatting with fellow guests; right up to the moment the very dead body of one of the guests is discovered. Then he's all business. The dead person was not known to any of the other guests, or so they say during the interviews. Tracking everyone's movements was made difficult by the unexpected electrical blackout before the body was discovered. (Yes, the author made use of this well-worn plot device and did a good job with it).
The plot is further complicated by another murder, with definite ties to the first.
I loved all the twists and turns--Macdonald was very clever, of course. And he was ably assisted by two of his regular subordinates: Reeves and Jenkins.
What kept this from being a 4 star read for me was Macdonald's long absence from the pages during the last third of the book. I thought we spent too much time running around the countryside with journalist Peter Vernon, and several of the party guests. The author, however, needed some way to show the reader what the various party guests were doing and thinking. The story is very fast-paced, with all the action taking place in several days.
I gave up trying to figure out 'whodunnit', though the 'why' was fairly obvious, and Macdonald figured out the 'how' almost immediately. I just kept reading, knowing that all would be explained by the end. I was right about that, and quite satisfied with the explanations.
Be sure to read Martin Edwards' (non-spoiler)introduction, which talks of Lorac's early career and her involvement with the Detection Club.
September 12, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyable party-guest mystery. It's another publisher-author setup like Death of an Author but a different feel. I like how Lorac writes and the settings she chooses (I do favor 1930s England as a setting). Her books are especially fun to read knowing she's a woman but that many of her original readers would have thought the author of her books was a man.
Since David Suchet has adapted all the Poirot stories...where's our MacDonald series? 'Twould be such fun! I've only read two of her books, but Lorac seems to favor chase scenes, physical clues, and secret identities, which translate well onscreen.
Since David Suchet has adapted all the Poirot stories...where's our MacDonald series? 'Twould be such fun! I've only read two of her books, but Lorac seems to favor chase scenes, physical clues, and secret identities, which translate well onscreen.
September 21, 2022
When thinking about my favorite classic mysteries, E.C.R Lorac and her detective MacDonald are one of my favorites. It’s hard to put my finger on what exactly I love about these mysteries but I can only say that reading them after reading anything else feels a bit like coming home after a long absence. Everything about them is so comfortable.
Macdonald in particular is an interesting figure in that despite the fact that he has no dark skeletons in his closet, no drug or alcohol abuse, no deep and scarring psychological trauma, and doesn’t even really seem to care much about a good meal if other volumes are any indication, is still fascinating in his cool, and level headed use of logic akin to a Scottish Columbo of sorts. While he is an important part of these mysteries, he is not in the strictest sense however the center of them. He may pop up in the beginning of a story and disappear for long stretches, or even somewhere toward the middle, you never really know. But when he is there, Lorac has already built a great story around him which he is ready to amble into and (hopefully) solve.
While this probably isn’t her best work in that there are far too many characters to keep track of (a number that keeps increasing right until the resolution of the case), and a solution that is slightly out of left field and feels a bit forced, it’s still mostly an enjoyable read with some cracking dialogue and trusty Inspector MacDonald on the case.
Macdonald in particular is an interesting figure in that despite the fact that he has no dark skeletons in his closet, no drug or alcohol abuse, no deep and scarring psychological trauma, and doesn’t even really seem to care much about a good meal if other volumes are any indication, is still fascinating in his cool, and level headed use of logic akin to a Scottish Columbo of sorts. While he is an important part of these mysteries, he is not in the strictest sense however the center of them. He may pop up in the beginning of a story and disappear for long stretches, or even somewhere toward the middle, you never really know. But when he is there, Lorac has already built a great story around him which he is ready to amble into and (hopefully) solve.
While this probably isn’t her best work in that there are far too many characters to keep track of (a number that keeps increasing right until the resolution of the case), and a solution that is slightly out of left field and feels a bit forced, it’s still mostly an enjoyable read with some cracking dialogue and trusty Inspector MacDonald on the case.
April 3, 2024
This mystery was a slow starter, but it gets more and more complex and interesting as it goes along. I’m a big Chief Inspector Macdonald fan. We get a little less of him in this novel than in the other two I’ve read but the characters we follow when we’re not with him are lots of fun. I particularly enjoyed Peter Vernon’s mad caper. The introduction calls this a closed circle mystery with possible connections between characters that aren’t immediately evident. I enjoyed that very much too. A clever title as well!
March 3, 2023
It helps to have a good memory for detail (or a notepad) when reading this intricate mystery. There are many, many suspects, and most of them have two different names! I read it in paperback, which made it easy to refer to the name concordance, which I did often.
Lorac’s regular detective, Chief Inspector Macdonald of the C.I.D., is invited to a party by a publisher. The event is a treasure hunt, with clues distributed of the acrostic-and-cipher variety, suitable to the intellectual powers of the (mostly) authors who are in attendance. Each competitor is given a pseudonym, and at the end they are supposed to guess one another’s identities. An elegant parlor game for the overeducated.
Naturally, a death occurs. On the surface it looks like a heart attack but Macdonald, because he is on the scene almost immediately, is able to catch a few evanescent clues that foul play was involved. A blackout in the house muddles his sense of who was where and when, and of course everyone, guilty or innocent, has a motive to obfuscate. It’s a fine tangle.
Purists may object that Lorac withholds some crucial information from the reader till the last act, but I don’t object to that tactic when I am tagging along behind the detective while he is learning the same information in real time, so to speak. I enjoyed all the details and the interesting characters, and the solutions (more than one mystery is involved) were satisfying. Most of the time I prefer the Macdonald stories that have rural settings, because the London sophisticates sometimes give me the pip, but this is one of Lorac’s better stories.
Lorac’s regular detective, Chief Inspector Macdonald of the C.I.D., is invited to a party by a publisher. The event is a treasure hunt, with clues distributed of the acrostic-and-cipher variety, suitable to the intellectual powers of the (mostly) authors who are in attendance. Each competitor is given a pseudonym, and at the end they are supposed to guess one another’s identities. An elegant parlor game for the overeducated.
Naturally, a death occurs. On the surface it looks like a heart attack but Macdonald, because he is on the scene almost immediately, is able to catch a few evanescent clues that foul play was involved. A blackout in the house muddles his sense of who was where and when, and of course everyone, guilty or innocent, has a motive to obfuscate. It’s a fine tangle.
Purists may object that Lorac withholds some crucial information from the reader till the last act, but I don’t object to that tactic when I am tagging along behind the detective while he is learning the same information in real time, so to speak. I enjoyed all the details and the interesting characters, and the solutions (more than one mystery is involved) were satisfying. Most of the time I prefer the Macdonald stories that have rural settings, because the London sophisticates sometimes give me the pip, but this is one of Lorac’s better stories.
September 19, 2024
This is the first disappointing book I've read by this author. To many characters with too many names, a pleasant but bland detective, and a convoluted plot add up to a mystery that doesn't work for me. The only truly interesting character was Susan, and she didn't figure into the story very much. The journalist who had a major part at the end was good, too, but again a small part of the story; plus he seemed to come out of nowhere.
If you like pure puzzle mysteries this may please you, but for me it sadly fell flat.
If you like pure puzzle mysteries this may please you, but for me it sadly fell flat.
January 4, 2022
The British author Edith Caroline Rivett – who wrote under the pseudonyms E. C. R. Lorac, Carol Carnac and Mary Le Bourne – is fast becoming one of my favourite writers of Golden Age mysteries. The British Library have reissued several of her novels in their Crime Classics series, and while These Names Make Clues (1937) isn’t quite as strong as some of the others I’ve read, there’s certainly a very intriguing puzzle for readers to enjoy.
The novel opens with an invitation to a treasure hunt party, which is to be hosted by the London-based publisher Graham Coombe and his sister, Susan. The Coombes have invited Chief Inspector Macdonald to attend the gathering, urging the detective to test his wits against the thriller writers and other assorted luminaries attending the event. At first, Macdonald is somewhat reluctant to accept, fearing that he might look a bit foolish if trumped by an amateur sleuth. Nevertheless, he ends up taking the bait, albeit on a whim.
The action swiftly moves to the party itself at Caroline House, a rather well-to-do property in London’s Marylebone, in the spring of 1936. Macdonald is one of ten or so guests at the gathering, each of whom is assigned a literary pseudonym to adopt for the night.
At first, the treasure hunt proceeds according to plan, with each guest working on their individual clues while also wondering about the other players’ identities. (To the best of the Coombes’ knowledge, the guests haven’t met before, so their true identities also remain something of a mystery – to one another at least.)
Just as the party is in full swing, the game is rudely interrupted by a blackout, seemingly due to a blown fuse. Candles are lit as a temporary measure, but when the guests reassemble to take stock of the situation, one member of the party is missing. Before long, the body of ‘Samuel Pepys’, aka the crime writer Andrew Gardien, is discovered by Macdonald at the back of the house.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2021...
The novel opens with an invitation to a treasure hunt party, which is to be hosted by the London-based publisher Graham Coombe and his sister, Susan. The Coombes have invited Chief Inspector Macdonald to attend the gathering, urging the detective to test his wits against the thriller writers and other assorted luminaries attending the event. At first, Macdonald is somewhat reluctant to accept, fearing that he might look a bit foolish if trumped by an amateur sleuth. Nevertheless, he ends up taking the bait, albeit on a whim.
The action swiftly moves to the party itself at Caroline House, a rather well-to-do property in London’s Marylebone, in the spring of 1936. Macdonald is one of ten or so guests at the gathering, each of whom is assigned a literary pseudonym to adopt for the night.
At first, the treasure hunt proceeds according to plan, with each guest working on their individual clues while also wondering about the other players’ identities. (To the best of the Coombes’ knowledge, the guests haven’t met before, so their true identities also remain something of a mystery – to one another at least.)
Just as the party is in full swing, the game is rudely interrupted by a blackout, seemingly due to a blown fuse. Candles are lit as a temporary measure, but when the guests reassemble to take stock of the situation, one member of the party is missing. Before long, the body of ‘Samuel Pepys’, aka the crime writer Andrew Gardien, is discovered by Macdonald at the back of the house.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2021...
June 4, 2022
*3,5⭐
За съжаление не мога да дам четири звезди на тази книга. Имаше потенциал,започна интересно,но след това нещата се размиха.
За съжаление не мога да дам четири звезди на тази книга. Имаше потенциал,започна интересно,но след това нещата се размиха.
June 12, 2024
It's well known in the mystery genre that when a weekend party involves playing a murder game (think The Crime at Black Dudley (1929) or A Man Lay Dead (1934)) that one of the guests will, in fact, be murdered. But even, as here, an apparently innocent "treasure hunt" can lead to the same result. Yes, Agatha Christie trod the same path much later with Dead Man's Folly (1956). Although a contemporary of Christie, Lorac (born Edith Caroline Rivett 1894-1958) is now forgotten except for the 14 volumes of her work now published in the most enjoyable British Library Crime Classics series (two as Carol Carnac). A shame as she was one of the most prolific writers of the time, averaging over two books a year (under four pseudonyms) from 1931 to 1959 (having died in 1958). Although the title of the book is true the reader has little chance of deciphering them, though I'll note that "Lorac" is of course Carol backwards, making her name a clue. And if anyone attempted to decode the cipher on page 14, am I the only one who thinks there must be a typo because the solution is imperfect?
December 11, 2021
MacDonald on the spot...
After being rather rude about detective fiction to a man he later discovered was Graham Coombe, a publisher of the genre, Inspector MacDonald is surprised to be invited to a little party at Coombe’s house. The party is to be a treasure hunt, with a group of thriller writers and a group of more heavyweight writers competing to solve clues which will lead them to the treasure. Coombe thinks it will be amusing to have a bona fide detective there too, especially one who is on record as suggesting that real detectives are better at solving things than fictional ones. MacDonald hesitates, but in the end decides to go. So he’s on the spot when one of the guests is killed…
This is quite different in style to the other Loracs I’ve read. She was clearly having fun at the expense of her own profession and there’s some mild humour over various styles and personalities which Martin Edwards suggests in his introduction may have been influenced by her chums in the Detection Club. But it’s not as light-hearted as it at first seems – there’s a serious plot in there too.
Each guest at the party is given a literary pseudonym and part of the game is for them all to work out who each other is in real life, most of them never having met before. While this conceit is quite amusing, I must say it led to a good deal of confusion for this poor reader. For the first few chapters we are introduced to “Samuel Pepys”, “Jane Austen” and so on, and then after the murder they all start to be called by their “real” names, which, as is normal in the world of novel-writing, are often pseudonyms too. So with each character having at least two names, sometimes more, I spent a ridiculous amount of time going back to the list which is happily provided a few chapters in, of which pseudonym matches which “real” name. This also made me realise that I wasn’t building up a real picture of most of the characters, or they should have been recognisable by that regardless of which name was being used for them.
The plot is as complex as the names and really couldn’t be described as fair-play, I feel. However, since I can rarely work out whodunit and don’t make much of an effort to try, this didn’t bother me. The book has a traditional “closed circle” of suspects – it’s clear that it must have been someone in the house during the party who committed the first crime. It also has the kind of complicated murder method more common in a howdunit style of mystery, but in this one MacDonald very quickly works out the how and the reader is allowed to know too. Of course, there is a second murder, and it has aspects of the locked room mystery, again with a complicated method. So there’s a lot going on, too much, I felt, and too many coincidences at play.
Normally Lorac’s settings play a major part in her books, be it London in the Blitz or the rural Lune Valley. This one hasn’t got that – although Coombe’s house is in London it has more of the feel of the “country house” mystery, with most of the action taking place in people’s drawings rooms.
I enjoyed it more than this review is probably suggesting, but I didn’t think it was quite up to the standard I’ve come to expect of her. I liked that we got to see MacDonald off duty in the first section of the book, making him feel a bit more rounded as a character. And I always enjoy the way he’s a team player, involving his junior officers fully and neither ridiculing nor patronising them, as some Golden Age police ‘tecs do. So plenty to like about it, but I’d tend to suggest it’s one for existing Lorac fans – new readers would be better to start elsewhere, probably with one of her wartime books where I feel she excels.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
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After being rather rude about detective fiction to a man he later discovered was Graham Coombe, a publisher of the genre, Inspector MacDonald is surprised to be invited to a little party at Coombe’s house. The party is to be a treasure hunt, with a group of thriller writers and a group of more heavyweight writers competing to solve clues which will lead them to the treasure. Coombe thinks it will be amusing to have a bona fide detective there too, especially one who is on record as suggesting that real detectives are better at solving things than fictional ones. MacDonald hesitates, but in the end decides to go. So he’s on the spot when one of the guests is killed…
This is quite different in style to the other Loracs I’ve read. She was clearly having fun at the expense of her own profession and there’s some mild humour over various styles and personalities which Martin Edwards suggests in his introduction may have been influenced by her chums in the Detection Club. But it’s not as light-hearted as it at first seems – there’s a serious plot in there too.
Each guest at the party is given a literary pseudonym and part of the game is for them all to work out who each other is in real life, most of them never having met before. While this conceit is quite amusing, I must say it led to a good deal of confusion for this poor reader. For the first few chapters we are introduced to “Samuel Pepys”, “Jane Austen” and so on, and then after the murder they all start to be called by their “real” names, which, as is normal in the world of novel-writing, are often pseudonyms too. So with each character having at least two names, sometimes more, I spent a ridiculous amount of time going back to the list which is happily provided a few chapters in, of which pseudonym matches which “real” name. This also made me realise that I wasn’t building up a real picture of most of the characters, or they should have been recognisable by that regardless of which name was being used for them.
The plot is as complex as the names and really couldn’t be described as fair-play, I feel. However, since I can rarely work out whodunit and don’t make much of an effort to try, this didn’t bother me. The book has a traditional “closed circle” of suspects – it’s clear that it must have been someone in the house during the party who committed the first crime. It also has the kind of complicated murder method more common in a howdunit style of mystery, but in this one MacDonald very quickly works out the how and the reader is allowed to know too. Of course, there is a second murder, and it has aspects of the locked room mystery, again with a complicated method. So there’s a lot going on, too much, I felt, and too many coincidences at play.
Normally Lorac’s settings play a major part in her books, be it London in the Blitz or the rural Lune Valley. This one hasn’t got that – although Coombe’s house is in London it has more of the feel of the “country house” mystery, with most of the action taking place in people’s drawings rooms.
I enjoyed it more than this review is probably suggesting, but I didn’t think it was quite up to the standard I’ve come to expect of her. I liked that we got to see MacDonald off duty in the first section of the book, making him feel a bit more rounded as a character. And I always enjoy the way he’s a team player, involving his junior officers fully and neither ridiculing nor patronising them, as some Golden Age police ‘tecs do. So plenty to like about it, but I’d tend to suggest it’s one for existing Lorac fans – new readers would be better to start elsewhere, probably with one of her wartime books where I feel she excels.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
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November 17, 2021
Liked this author and shall read more. A good read for anyone interested in the golden age mystery.
February 27, 2023
A book of two halves, as they say: the first half is huge fun as Inspector Macdonald goes to a treasure hunt party where all the guests have a literary alias. Of course, someone is soon murdered in mysterious circumstances... followed by a second murder to someone linked to the first.
Sadly, though, this all goes off the rails, partly because the characters are hard to keep apart, not helped by the fact that everyone is known throughout the book by both their real name and their party alias. To add to that, Macdonald is missing for a large chunk of the second half and is replaced by an intrepid journalist who races around the country getting knocked on the head before stumbling across what appears to be a conspiracy... in Reading, of all places!
By the time Macdonald comes back on stage, he's somehow figured out the whole thing though we have no real idea how. So it's a bit of a cheat with barely-there clues - and the whole thing has to be explained to us by the end.
Sadly, though, this all goes off the rails, partly because the characters are hard to keep apart, not helped by the fact that everyone is known throughout the book by both their real name and their party alias. To add to that, Macdonald is missing for a large chunk of the second half and is replaced by an intrepid journalist who races around the country getting knocked on the head before stumbling across what appears to be a conspiracy... in Reading, of all places!
By the time Macdonald comes back on stage, he's somehow figured out the whole thing though we have no real idea how. So it's a bit of a cheat with barely-there clues - and the whole thing has to be explained to us by the end.
December 2, 2022
Not every golden-age mystery is a classic. This one is jammed full of throwaway erudition, silly name-based puzzle clues, and characters who distract from the story and annoy the reader—like the journalist Vernon, whose jokey badinage and truly useless “detection” add pages of red herrings and nothingness. This gets nice try points for the Treasure Hunt setting and the plodding but personable detective. But don’t confuse this with Josephine Tey or Dorothy L. Sayers.
November 26, 2023
Ugh. I had no idea what was going on in this Golden Age mystery. Too many suspects, too many pseudonyms, too many extraneous conversations between people who had little to do with the action. This was my second ECR Lorac novel. I liked the first one, but not this one.
November 30, 2025
2.5
some interesting experiments going on in this book, but I have reread chapters now and ultimately still don't understand the motive behind the murder...
some interesting experiments going on in this book, but I have reread chapters now and ultimately still don't understand the motive behind the murder...
October 17, 2021
Brilliant, fun and engaging. I totally love these long forgotten crime books, coming back to life and being read by a new audience and appreciated for their wit, cleverness and yes thrilling and chilling stories. This is such a fantastic and intriguing mystery that at once both makes you smile and try and work out what is going on. If you love a hint of nostalgia and a good mystery this book is one for you. I would highly recommend this brilliant book.
February 3, 2023
Finished a few days ago, read through this quickly as it was so much fun for me. I enjoy Lorac's style of writing; and I do like Macdonald as our lead investigator. The party had an interesting concept game and the murder sure put a damper on it. The man who died was a popular author but upon digging into his past the man pretty much disappeared. The interesting thing is that so many of the authors at the party also has alias to write under or had buried a bit of their past as well. A fun read to watch Macdonald search about for clues and make connections. There is of course; another death as well to solve. Solid mystery.
November 28, 2022
Chief Inspector Macdonald is invited by a famous publisher to a treasure hunt party where some of the other guests are writers. Participants must solve puzzles and collect clues to reach the treasure. In the course of the game, however, one of the guests is found dead, and McDonald will try to find the killer. Interestingly, he is not the only one who will try to solve the mystery. I gave 4.5 stars because I was expecting a bigger climax when the killer being revealed. That aside, the action moved along fairly quickly as we followed the actions and thoughts of many of the characters. The Chief Inspector himself impressed me with his foresight and demeanor. I would love to read more books with him.
The rest of the characters are a strange palette of names and characters. I was interested in retracing everyone's steps and trying to form a theory about who the killer might be. I was most curious about the paradox of the murders and wondered exactly how it all happened. I also liked the play on the name of the book and one of the clues. Maybe when I decided to solve the puzzle myself I was able to guess who the killer was, but that was already towards the end of the book. The author's style is fascinating and leads us imperceptibly to the revelation at the end of the story. I didn't feel satisfied at the end, because just the reveal itself was kind of flat, without dynamics and suspense. I wanted more from this scene. However, I really enjoyed the book!
The rest of the characters are a strange palette of names and characters. I was interested in retracing everyone's steps and trying to form a theory about who the killer might be. I was most curious about the paradox of the murders and wondered exactly how it all happened. I also liked the play on the name of the book and one of the clues. Maybe when I decided to solve the puzzle myself I was able to guess who the killer was, but that was already towards the end of the book. The author's style is fascinating and leads us imperceptibly to the revelation at the end of the story. I didn't feel satisfied at the end, because just the reveal itself was kind of flat, without dynamics and suspense. I wanted more from this scene. However, I really enjoyed the book!
September 18, 2023
I liked this but found it a little more stilted and harder to follow than Post After Post-Mortem, which I read earlier this year and which was published a year later in Lorac's Inspector Robert Macdonald series. She seemed preoccupied with writers and crime in the mid-1930s. This is not quite a locked-room mystery like the subsequent novel, but there is a treasure hunt that takes place when a group of writers are invited to the home of a publisher and his sister, Caroline House, to take part in a challenge that pits their intellects against one another with a series of clues. Inspector Macdonald is included in the invitation because his work involved solving detailed puzzles.
That murder results is no surprise.
I enjoy the author's focus on feminist themes (the publisher's sister, Miss Susan Coombe, was an early suffragette) and the subject of writers, writing, and publishing. Like several other Goodreads readers, though, I found the book uneven. Still, it's wonderful that Lorac's novels are being brought back into print. I hope that my future reads are as well-written as Post After Post-Portem. Crook o' Lune, a later novel in the Macdonald series, was just republished by Poisoned Pen Press in July.
That murder results is no surprise.
I enjoy the author's focus on feminist themes (the publisher's sister, Miss Susan Coombe, was an early suffragette) and the subject of writers, writing, and publishing. Like several other Goodreads readers, though, I found the book uneven. Still, it's wonderful that Lorac's novels are being brought back into print. I hope that my future reads are as well-written as Post After Post-Portem. Crook o' Lune, a later novel in the Macdonald series, was just republished by Poisoned Pen Press in July.
September 14, 2021
Anyone who loves cryptic crosswords and word puzzles will enjoy this. The plot is concerned with pseudonyms, wordplay, and concealed identity, as well as two deaths.
E. C. R. Lorac aka Carol Carnac, was really Edith Caroline Rivett, and one of the characters in this book, a writer of detective novels, bears more than a passing resemblance to Cecil John Street aka John Rhodes, Miles Burton and Cecil Waye.
Added to this, the deaths take place at a party given by a publisher, with eight authors present, and in an agent's office.
Lorac was elected to membership of the Detection Club in the year this was published, 1937, and so there may be hints of other real people in some of the characters, as Martin Edwards points out in the Introduction.
It is all good fun and, if not exactly fair on the reader-as-detective, does have the traditional restricted circle of suspects.
The immensely-likeable Chief Inspector Macdonald is right on the case, and there is a bumbling amateur in the shape of reporter Peter Vernon to give another dimension to the investigation.
I found this latest BLCC reissue hugely enjoyable and it is great to have such an apparently rare book available at reasonable prices.
I note with pleasure the increased interest in this unjustly-neglected writer, and hope there will be more reissues in the near future.
E. C. R. Lorac aka Carol Carnac, was really Edith Caroline Rivett, and one of the characters in this book, a writer of detective novels, bears more than a passing resemblance to Cecil John Street aka John Rhodes, Miles Burton and Cecil Waye.
Added to this, the deaths take place at a party given by a publisher, with eight authors present, and in an agent's office.
Lorac was elected to membership of the Detection Club in the year this was published, 1937, and so there may be hints of other real people in some of the characters, as Martin Edwards points out in the Introduction.
It is all good fun and, if not exactly fair on the reader-as-detective, does have the traditional restricted circle of suspects.
The immensely-likeable Chief Inspector Macdonald is right on the case, and there is a bumbling amateur in the shape of reporter Peter Vernon to give another dimension to the investigation.
I found this latest BLCC reissue hugely enjoyable and it is great to have such an apparently rare book available at reasonable prices.
I note with pleasure the increased interest in this unjustly-neglected writer, and hope there will be more reissues in the near future.
Read
August 19, 2022Изтощих се от досада. Започваше обнадеждаващо, че ще е един приятен заплетен класически криминален роман, но впоследствие..
February 20, 2023
3.5 stars - Lorac is one of my favorite Golden Age mystery writers, discovered through the Reading the Detectives group, and I’ve read and enjoyed several of her reissued books, but this wasn’t a favorite. Number 12 in the Inspector Macdonald (of Scotland Yard) series, originally published in 1937, but each case stands alone, and the books don’t have to be read in order (thank goodness, as she was quite productive, and the books are being reissued randomly).
In this outing, Macdonald is invited to a treasure hunt party at the home of a successful publisher; he has also invited several of his thriller writers and novelists. He hesitates to accept, but a journalist acquaintance (Vernon - more on him in a minute) talks him into attending. Upon arrival, all guests are given the name of a famous writer from history and a number of ciphers and puzzles to solve; these provide clues to the next part of the puzzle. At the end of the evening, the guests can ask each other questions to try and arrive at each other’s real identities.
All is going well, and Macdonald is enjoying himself, when the lights go out, then “Samuel Pepys” is found dead in the telephone room. It appears to be from natural causes, a heart attack, but Macdonald isn’t so sure, so he follows procedures, identifies the guests, everyone’s movements, etc.
Once he starts digging into the obscure background of the dead man, these get foggier and more confusing. First, there were so many suspects, it was hard keeping them straight; plus, the mystery (and most of the suspects’ interactions with each other), began at a party full of ciphers, puzzles, false names, etc. Finally, for some reason, a large chunk of the last half of the mystery was taken over by the babbling journalist, Vernon, who went off tailing one of the suspects into the country - it was to a town at the heart of the mystery, and luckily Macdonald wasn’t terribly far behind, but I found Vernon and his dialogue with various suspects annoying.
I enjoyed the last bit of the book, once Macdonald was back in the action, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone wanting to try this wonderful, under appreciated GA author start with this book. Macdonald has become my favorite Scotland Yard detective, and I look forward to reading more of his adventures.
In this outing, Macdonald is invited to a treasure hunt party at the home of a successful publisher; he has also invited several of his thriller writers and novelists. He hesitates to accept, but a journalist acquaintance (Vernon - more on him in a minute) talks him into attending. Upon arrival, all guests are given the name of a famous writer from history and a number of ciphers and puzzles to solve; these provide clues to the next part of the puzzle. At the end of the evening, the guests can ask each other questions to try and arrive at each other’s real identities.
All is going well, and Macdonald is enjoying himself, when the lights go out, then “Samuel Pepys” is found dead in the telephone room. It appears to be from natural causes, a heart attack, but Macdonald isn’t so sure, so he follows procedures, identifies the guests, everyone’s movements, etc.
Once he starts digging into the obscure background of the dead man, these get foggier and more confusing. First, there were so many suspects, it was hard keeping them straight; plus, the mystery (and most of the suspects’ interactions with each other), began at a party full of ciphers, puzzles, false names, etc. Finally, for some reason, a large chunk of the last half of the mystery was taken over by the babbling journalist, Vernon, who went off tailing one of the suspects into the country - it was to a town at the heart of the mystery, and luckily Macdonald wasn’t terribly far behind, but I found Vernon and his dialogue with various suspects annoying.
I enjoyed the last bit of the book, once Macdonald was back in the action, but I wouldn’t recommend anyone wanting to try this wonderful, under appreciated GA author start with this book. Macdonald has become my favorite Scotland Yard detective, and I look forward to reading more of his adventures.
March 23, 2023
I found it enjoyable. And didn't catch on to it.
A publisher holds a treasure hunt party and invites people that he thinks do not know each other, mostly writers and one detective inspector. He had met the inspector shortly before the party in a restaurant by chance and heard him expound on literary mysteries and their authors. At least 4 of the authors are mystery/crime writers. I think the other four are some form of non-fiction - an economist, an historian, not sure about the others. Everyone gets to play under a pseudonym. Inspector Macdonald, a Scot, is assigned Isaak Walton's name. They are given a bunch of clues and are supposed to come to conclusions based on crosswords, anagrams, etc. They are given free rein of the publisher's library.
All goes along swimmingly until the lights go out and one of the authors shows up dead. Various clues are dropped.
It left me lost.
I look forward to further stories by the author, no matter what name she is writing under. She is another Golden Age of mystery who wrote under multiple names. I don't she meets Mr. Street's number of pseudonyms however.
A publisher holds a treasure hunt party and invites people that he thinks do not know each other, mostly writers and one detective inspector. He had met the inspector shortly before the party in a restaurant by chance and heard him expound on literary mysteries and their authors. At least 4 of the authors are mystery/crime writers. I think the other four are some form of non-fiction - an economist, an historian, not sure about the others. Everyone gets to play under a pseudonym. Inspector Macdonald, a Scot, is assigned Isaak Walton's name. They are given a bunch of clues and are supposed to come to conclusions based on crosswords, anagrams, etc. They are given free rein of the publisher's library.
All goes along swimmingly until the lights go out and one of the authors shows up dead. Various clues are dropped.
It left me lost.
I look forward to further stories by the author, no matter what name she is writing under. She is another Golden Age of mystery who wrote under multiple names. I don't she meets Mr. Street's number of pseudonyms however.
March 7, 2023
An engaging crime read - 3.5*
This was my first encounter with Chief Inspector MacDonald and I found the character engaging and well written. He is insightful and not embittered as som many literary Chief Inspectors seem to be.
The plot revolves around a party which the CI attends and at which an unexpected death occurs. The other guests are an erudite lot and their interconnections are slowly revealed in an interesting and careful way.
There were a couple of little wrinkles that detracted slightly from the story. Firstly, there was a rather endearing journalist who suddenly assumed a significant role about 70% through the story. This seemed a little odd to me although it may well be that the character is better known in other books involving this CI. Secondly, bearing in mind many of the characters were renowned pacifists they seemed surprisingly keen on the deaths of those of whom they did not approve.
Despite those little wrinkles I enjoyed the book considerably.
This was my first encounter with Chief Inspector MacDonald and I found the character engaging and well written. He is insightful and not embittered as som many literary Chief Inspectors seem to be.
The plot revolves around a party which the CI attends and at which an unexpected death occurs. The other guests are an erudite lot and their interconnections are slowly revealed in an interesting and careful way.
There were a couple of little wrinkles that detracted slightly from the story. Firstly, there was a rather endearing journalist who suddenly assumed a significant role about 70% through the story. This seemed a little odd to me although it may well be that the character is better known in other books involving this CI. Secondly, bearing in mind many of the characters were renowned pacifists they seemed surprisingly keen on the deaths of those of whom they did not approve.
Despite those little wrinkles I enjoyed the book considerably.
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