John Foster Straker (1904-1987) was an English author born in Kent and who served in World War II. During the war with time on his hands he began writing mysteries. He first published seven mysteries with Detective-Inspector Richard Aloysius Pitt from 1954 to 1961, then another seven books with Detective Sergeant Johnny Inch, and another dozen or so nonseries novels.
Straker introduced Pitt in Postman’s Knock (George C. Harrap, 1954; Lume Books, 2023). Pitt is enjoying a few days of long overdue leave with his sister when his brother-in-law, a sergeant with the local police force, pulls him into the investigation of a vanishing postal carrier. John Laurie was assigned to carry the mail along Grange Road, where many of the residents were watching for him, waiting for a package or a check or some other important delivery. Laurie unaccountably disappeared somewhere along the way.
Interviewing the occupants of Grange Road turned out to be livelier than expected. Everyone had something to hide, and no one told a consistent story. One resident was a self-appointed neighborhood watch committee and could tell Pitt who had walked up and down the road during most, but not all, of the critical time. The participants of a love triangle were anxious to put a good front on their actions. Another gentleman whose business activities were somewhat questionable was not eager to talk to law enforcement. And on and on.
No one could suppose that the Grange Road mail was so valuable that a carrier would abscond with it. Pitt suggested at one point Laurie was overcome with despair at the pointlessness of his life and ran away. This suggestion was met with the derision it deserved. Then Laurie’s mangled bicycle was discovered, and the police became convinced he was a victim of foul play.
A solid British detective mystery, strong on plot and characters in the tradition of Lorac, Carr, Christie, Gilbert, and Bellairs. I especially enjoyed the freshness of the set-up. The only other postal carrier mystery I can remember is a Father Brown story. There are likely others, they just aren’t common. Grange Road too is an inventive spin on the closed community of suspects, all of whom are recognizable types. When Pitt sorts it out, the malefactor had been in plain sight all along.
A well-written tale for fans of classic crime. Joffe/Lume Books has thoughtfully reprinted all seven of Pitt’s adventures.