Cecil John Charles Street (1884-1964) was a serving British army officer who attained the rank of Major. He was also a pillar of Golden Age crime fiction, writing under multiple names, producing four detective novels a year for thirty-seven years. As John Rhode, he wrote about 70 books with Dr. Lancelot Priestley, published between 1925 and 1961. He also turned out short stories, stand-alone novels, stage plays, and non-fiction under this pseudonym.
As Cecil Waye, he wrote four novels about Christopher and Vivienne Perrin, private investigators in London.
His series characters under the name Miles Burton were amateur criminologist Desmond Merrion and Scotland Yard Inspector John Arnold who appeared in about 60 novels between 1930 and 1960. The fourth book showcasing the talents of Merrion and Arnold is Death of Mr. Gantley (Collins The Crime Club, 1932).
The elderly Mr. Gantley, owner of a local newspaper, is found dead in his car one Monday morning. He was known to have spent the weekend on his houseboat and seems to have been on his way home when he was shot. His vehicle plunged sideways into a deep ditch as a result of the shooting.
Lady Gantley, Gantley’s sister-in-law, died suddenly only a day or two earlier. Her will had an unfortunate provision in that her considerable estate was to stay within the family to benefit a niece and nephew if Gantley was still alive at the time of her passing. Otherwise her money was to go to her companion and her brother.
As soon as the police learned that a fortune depended on the timing of Gantley’s death, the local Inspector Driffield was more than anxious to call in Scotland Yard. Inspector Arnold soon arrived to assist and he was as perplexed as Driffield. But they definitely did not like the looks of the niece and nephew, neither of whom appeared responsible or law-abiding.
Complicating matters was a local man who’d been discharged by Gantley and who saw a way to achieve a small measure of revenge as Gantley drove along the dark road Sunday night. Then there were the confidential negotiations Gantley had been undertaking to acquire a rival newspaper, which was sure to be unpopular in some parts of the county.
These are mere distractions, of course I knew the real issue was the time of Gantley’s death. Although there was some indication that perhaps Lady Gantley’s demise had been expedited, no real proof could be found. Arnold fortunately encountered Desmond Merrion who agreed to look into the facts with him. The pair take a leisurely but exhaustive approach to investigation, leaving no stone unturned in their attempts to identify the killer.
This is the second book I’ve read with Merrion and I still find him somewhat colorless. The neighborhood characters are full of personality so Burton could create vivid people when he wanted to. Perhaps this early in the series he was still thinking about the characteristics his star investigator should have. I need to look at titles later in the series to see if Merrion develops more clearly.
For fans of careful methodical investigations, readers requiring action should look elsewhere.