I ran across a discussion in which bloggers offered their favorite Golden Age mysteries, and The Medbury Fort Murder (Collins Crime Club, 1929) by George Limnelius was mentioned twice. Of course I cannot find the discussion again so I cannot give credit to the bloggers. Limnelius is an author new to me. Part 41 to the addenda of Hubin’s Crime Fiction IV lists the following information: LIMNELIUS, GEORGE. Lewis (George) Robinson, 1886-1950
Beneath the Stains of Time blog discusses Limnelius and his work in multiple posts. Otherwise, I have been unable to locate more data. From a 22 April 2022 post:
“Lewis G. Robinson had a long, distinguished service career as a Medical Officer in the British Army, serving during the First World War and rising to the rank of Colonel before retiring due to ill-health, who drew on his army experience to write four specialized, military-themed detective novels – all but one published under the name “George Limnelius.” Under the same pseudonym, Robinson wrote three extremely obscure short stories, “The Time-Gun” (1929), “A Perfect Alibi” (1929) and “On the Ether” (1930), which were published in The Royal Magazine.”
https://moonlight-detective.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-general-goes-too-far-1936-by-lewis.html
In Robinson’s first mystery Major Hugh Preece, a medical officer in the British Army, finds himself at a post where someone from his distant past is also serving. A long flashback describes Preece’s doomed love affair with a minor stage actress who was determined to make an advantageous marriage. The role of wife to an impecunious Army officer did not appeal to her, yet Preece was obsessed. This section includes a vivid and informative description of Preece’s deployment to a West African post, which is no doubt based on Robinson’s experience. The pair separated eventually after the actress found a suitable husband. The repellent Lieutenant Lepean recognized Preece, remembered his romantic attachment to a now married actress, and tried to blackmail him.
Preece decided the only possible solution was to kill Lepean, who made himself universally despised on the base. Yet someone else killed Lepean before Preece could. Access to his room was limited to a single guarded stairway. The guard stated that no one had entered or exited in the hours before Lepean’s body was found, which limited his killer to one of the other officers on the floor.
I found the ending weaker than the rest of the story, which is well plotted and quite readable. Character development is not something I expect to see in a mystery from this time, yet Preece, his actress paramour, the other officers, even Lepean, are more than outlines.
Several bloggers have reviewed the book with mixed reactions. The comments on each post are equally enlightening.
- https://moonlight-detective.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-medbury-fort-murder-1929-by-george.html
- https://mysteriesahoy.com/2018/01/08/the-medbury-fort-murder-by-george-limnelius/
- https://prettysinister.blogspot.com/2016/06/ffb-medbury-fort-murder-george-limnelius.html
- https://jiescribano.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/george-limnelius-1886-1950/
Digitized versions are readily available on the Hathi Trust website and on Google Books.