Bøker av John Rhode

The Murders in Praed Street is a 1928 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It features the fourth appearance of the armchair detective Lancelot Priestley, who figured in a long-running series of novels during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.In 1936 it was adapted into the film Twelve Good Men, produced by the British subsidiary of Warner Brothers at Teddington Studios. Directed by Ralph Ince, it starred Henry Kendall, Nancy O'Neil, and Joyce Kennedy. It is the only one of the author's novels to be filmed.Street was born in Gibraltar to General John Alfred Street CB of Woking, and his second wife, Caroline, daughter of Charles Horsfall Bill of Storthes Hall, Yorkshire, head of a landed gentry family. Caroline had married comparatively late and her only son was born when she was thirty-five. General Street, having retired from the Army at the age of sixty-two just after his son's birth, died suddenly. Consequently, Street and his mother lived with his maternal grandparents at their house in Firlands, Woking, which was "comfortably staffed with seven domestics.". Street remained "modestly circumspect" about his privileged background in later life and valued "a man's personal accomplishments over his family heritage".

"Death Takes a Partner" by John Rhode is a gripping mystery that follows Inspector Lancelot Priestley as he delves into a tangled web of secrets and deceit. When a wealthy industrialist is found murdered in his opulent estate, the list of suspects is as extensive as it is elusive.Priestley, armed with his sharp intellect and keen observational skills, navigates through a maze of conflicting alibis and hidden motives. As he untangles the intricate threads of the case, he uncovers a series of unexpected connections between the victim and those around him. Each revelation leads him closer to the heart of a chilling conspiracy that threatens to shatter the facades of respectability maintained by the elite.Set against the backdrop of post-war England, "Death Takes a Partner" weaves together a compelling narrative filled with red herrings, unexpected twists, and a race against time to catch a killer before they strike again. Rhode's masterful storytelling and attention to detail immerse readers in a world where every clue holds significance and danger lurks behind every elegant facade.With its blend of suspense, complex characters, and an intricately plotted mystery, "Death Takes a Partner" is a classic detective novel that keeps readers on the edge of their seats until the final, shocking revelation.NO TWO MEN could have been more opposite in every way than Wilfred and Clarence Cheriton. Wilfred, forever immersed in some engineering experiment, had little use for people and business activities, whereas Clarence was a sociable man with a gift for selling the products of Cheriton Engineering Works, of which he and his cousin were partners. If only the two cousins could have made allowances for their differences, it was a partnership which should have worked well. But they couldn't, and the sudden death of Wilfred led Superintendent James Waghorn of New Scotland Yard to make some very searching inquiries into the affairs of the Cheriton family.Once again, "Jimmy" Waghorn is helped in his investigations by the enigmatic advice of Dr. Priestley, while Sergeant King's encyclopedic knowledge of the underworld plays its part in the solving of a particularly ingenious crime.

Despite starting out life as an officer in the British army, Cecil Street went on to become a successful author of detective fiction. His most famous crime-solver, Dr. Priestly, featured in almost fifty novels, including the acclaimed The Elusive Bullet. Many crime and detective stories, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

A special release of the very first crime novel by John Rhode, introducing Dr Priestley, the genius detective who would go on to appear in more than 70 bestselling crime novels during the Golden Age.

The next time you visit Olympia, take a good look around and see if you think it would be possible to murder someone in the middle of the crowd there without being seen...

A classic crime novel by one of the most highly regarded exponents of the genre.

A classic winter's crime novel by one of the most highly regarded exponents of the genre.