Interesting to encounter Inspector Meredith in another British setting, after Cornwall and the Lake District. Another enjoyable classic crime case, not especially taxing reading but plenty of fun.

Another new release of an old classic forming part of the British Library of Crime Series.

This is the third in the Inspector Meredith Series by author John Bude, though it is not hard to get into. In this instalment, Meredith, whilst staying with writer friend Aldous Barnet, is called upon to investigate a murder that has permeated the quiet life of the residents of Regency Square.

I love revisiting old classics, and have a few in my own personal library - the writing style is quite different from today, with the reader having to - in the words of one famous detective - employ the little grey cells. Well worth the exploration.

From http://www.bookbarmy.com

Is it possible to have a crush on a publisher?

My heart beats faster, my fingers fondle their book covers, and my wallet giddily opens its arms -- all for The British Library Crime Series by Poisoned Pen Press.

Just look at these beauties, I mean really, what mystery reader could resist?
I first became aware of this series with my first purchase of THIS long lost favorite mystery. Since then I have cultivated a insatiable craving finely-tuned taste for this Poisoned Pen Press imprint.

In 1997, husband and wife founders, Robert Rosenwald and Barbara Peters, who are also the owners of the legendary Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona, saw an opportunity to re-publish the wonderful British mysteries novels of the 1930's and 1940's. They tapped into every bibliophile's secret desire --out of print titles, long lost authors, and beautiful covers to lovingly add to a bookcase:

“We knew that mystery readers wanted complete collections, so we thought we could make a business out of that.”
I've read several of these and, while some are better than others, all are well-plotted mysteries graced with some classic crime writing and completely interesting settings - in short they are pure fun escape reading.

There are locked room mysteries (Miraculous Mysteries), murders in Europe (Continental Crimes), small village settings (Death of a Busybody), and dead bodies in crumbling manors (Seven Dead).
In short, there's a British mystery for you in The British Library Crime Series. You got to love any publisher/bookseller who states this as their mission statement:

We are a community Bound By Mystery.

and who gathers praise such as this:

Hurrah to British Library Crime Classics for rediscovering some of the forgotten gems of the Golden Age of British crime writing.(Globe and Mail)

Might I suggest you support this fine enterprise by buying the books direct from their website ~ just click this logo.

The link to the review will be added once the review has been finalised.

It's funny. With all the exploration of how murder was committed in this book, how an arrow can cause death by "entering the fleshy part of the skull" (?) and all that good stuff – still, what grossed me out the most with this book was the fact that the victim, once the arrow was removed from his head, was carried away from the scene of death to be laid out in his own room, on his own bed. And all I could envision was how horrific that bed is going to be. And who's going to have to clean that up?

In a way, this is an inverse locked-room mystery.

It's been a long time since I pulled a bow, and I was never an expert of any sort, but there were a few things that just didn't sit right with the handling of archery and how it was considered in the investigation of the mystery. Like the fact that it came as a great surprise that there were no fingerprints on the arrow. "What the devil do you mean—there must have been. A chap couldn’t pull an arrow without handling it, could he?" Well … sure. Gloves. Thin leather gloves, to provide a grip while still allowing the ability to feel the string, would be no impediment in using a bow, as best I can remember.

Now and then there's a confluence of names in a book which is just fun. A recent cozy had a character with my first name as his last and my last name as his first; a historical mystery had a character named Betty Draper, which brought back happy memories of <I>Mad Men</i>. (Not of the character, but the show.) Here there were two detectives who as partners came together to make me snort softly: "Long and Shanks then got into the police-car" made it sound like Aragorn had come on the scene.

So … according to this book, it's impossible to crack a safe in the classic movie tradition of listening for the fall of the tumblers? *Paging Mythbusters*

Cheltenham Square is very much a product of its time. "Will there be anybody in next door? I had an idea that Captain Cotton lived alone." "He does—except for his man, Albert." My eyebrows popped up at the failure to count Albert as a person living in the house, added as little more than an afterthought. Of course he's not, in this period – he's staff. The problem with that is that, of course, that afterthought could have as easily been the murderer as anyone else in the book.

An other thing that especially dated this book to its moment was the attitude toward Miss Boon's dogs. She's a spinster of a certain age who has pack of dogs (she's not a crazy cat lady, she's an eccentric dog lady). She has a moment in the sun as a strong suspect in the murders which occur, but after all, her only motive for killing one of them is that he killed one of her dogs. The police pooh-pooh it – come, now, that's no reason to murder a man. It's not a read motive. Perhaps "an eccentric woman with an overwhelming, single-minded passion for dogs" might … nah. Not likely. And there I beg to differ. I'm fairly pacifistic – but anyone who <I>ever</i> laid a finger on any of my dogs would have paid. In blood. In my world it's a more than sufficient motive.

I had some guesses about how the murder (that is, <spoiler>murders</spoiler>) happened, and also about the motive. I was on the right track with the why (<spoiler>mistaken identity for the first murder: it seemed so obvious to me when it was pointed out that all that was visible of the first victim was the back of his head, easily mistaken for someone else's. It also seemed like a very cool idea for the second killing to then be a red herring, making it seem as though the first one was a mistake and therefore any motives or opportunity that applied to the first one could be washed out…</spoiler>, but what seemed absolutely obvious to me was that what everyone thought was the method – an archer's shot from across the square – was, in point of fact, not. (<spoiler>I was convinced that what actually happened was that the person in the room with that first victim, who claimed to have just turned away for a minute during which the victim was shot, actually had an arrow on him and simply stabbed the victim. I still like my idea better … mostly. Oh! I also glommed onto the fact that golf came into play, so to speak – a golf bag would, after all, be a great place to hide arrows.</spoiler>)

Some of the procedural moments seemed a little off, which I imagine is due to the age of the book. Or maybe I was just totally wrong when I was surprised that the police didn't retain the key to the building from which they thought the arrow was shot?

The writing was entertaining, and the characters got the job done. I'm still not enamored of the plot, but it did keep me guessing (even if I grumpily muttered that at least one of my ideas was more fun). But … seriously? Someone kills your dog and you won't at least wish that person a little dead? Really? Huh.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.

A solid, closed group mystery that is mostly peopled with grumps and no-goods; which, in itself, is a nice change. The mystery and its conclusion is a real, "Whaaaaa?" and the author seems to know it, wrapping up any loose ends in a short chapter with an explanation that deserves a hard, squinty-eyed sweep of disapproval. But the writing is brisk, as per usual with Mr. Bude's novels, and gave me an entertaining few nights of reading. A recommend.

This is a whodunit murder mystery in the traditional British style. It is a reprint of the book as part of the British Library Classic Crime series which focuses on mysteries written during the Golden Age – the interwar years of the 20th century. I received an advance reading copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an objective review of it.

The story is set in the upscale Regency Square neighborhood of Cheltenham, a “spa town”. Regency Square consist of 10 houses who occupants make up the cast of the story. Unfortunately, two residents are murdered several days apart during the course of the story. Their deaths are the result of an arrow being shot through the back of their heads as they sit in chairs facing windows overlooking the square. Since this is not CSI Cheltenham, the blood and gore is kept to a minimum as is common in cozy mystery stories.

The story is told at a brisk pace mostly from the point of view of the investigating police inspectors, particularly Superintendent Meredith. Readers are not privy to any secret information that is not provided by the police so we share their frustration as they met dead ends in their investigations. This of course builds the suspense and natural curiosity about the killer. The identity of the killer is secret until the end. There is the ever present a temptation to skip to the end to find out “whodunit”: I successfully managed to resist this and am glad that I did.

Readers who enjoy problem-solving mysteries will be satisfied by this book. All in all, it’s a good police procedural mystery. Superintendent Meredith leads readers through the often tedious and frustrating investigation of a bizarre crime. It’s mostly plot-driven with little or no character development. The characters are really tokens to drive the story and thus readers learn little them. The author’s theater background is in evidence in this regard; this story could be adapted into a play without too much effort.

I recently read The Cheltenham Square Murder by John Bude. The peace and tranquility of the square are disturbed when one of the residents is murdered with an arrow. There are plenty of suspects, plenty of motives, and even plenty of archers. Thank goodness, there is also Superintendent Meredith to work his way through all the extraneous clues and arrive at the proper solution. I enjoyed this. The characters were quirky and interesting, there was a bit of humor woven in, and I learned a bit about archery. Did you know that arrows were measured in shillings?

Bryan laughed: "Here! We're talking at cross purposes. Four and ninepence is the weight of the arrow.You see, they're weighed up against shillings. An ordinary shilling being the unit of measurement. Some people prefer a lighter arrow--say a four-shilling. This fellow, on the other hand, seems to have used the same weight arrow as I do myself. If you want to make sure about that point, I suggest you borrow a balance and weight the arrow against four shillings and ninepence. In silver, of course!

Isn't that a fascinating fact to have come across? It is one reason I so enjoy these old mysteries. You never know what you will learn. Not that I ever expect to be able to make use of these facts--unless, of course, someone conveniently gets murdered with an arrow in my neighborhood.

I, said the sparrow, with my little bow and arrow... 3½ stars

The people who live in Regency Square in Cheltenham form a little community set somewhat apart from the rest of the town. They all socialise with each other, and there are all the rivalries and grievances that grow up in any group over time. So when someone shoots Captain Cotton with an arrow to the head through the open window of a neighbour's house, there are plenty of suspects, since many of the residents are members of the local archery club, and Captain Cotton had annoyed several of his neighbours in one way or another. Unfortunately for the murderer, Superintendent Meredith is visiting a friend in the square at the time, and the local police quickly enlist his help...

...which is a wonder really, since on the basis of this he's not terribly good at his job! Mind you, he's better than the local chap, who seems almost entirely clueless. Things were different back then, of course, as can be seen when the police pick up the body, carry it across the square, and leave it unattended on the captain's own bed till the inquest. The thing is that there's a major plot point which is so blindingly obvious that the biggest mystery in the book is that it doesn't even occur to the police till the book is nearly over – I won't specify for fear of spoilers, even though I defy anyone not to spot it. And it's not the only easy to spot clue – easy for the reader, that is, but seemingly impenetrable to our dogged but hopeless detectives. On the other hand, Meredith seems amazingly, almost supernaturally, perceptive when it comes to less important clues, making astounding leaps of intuition to arrive at the truth. The powers-that-be keep threatening to hand the whole thing over to the Yard, and I really felt they should do this pronto – intriguingly Meredith's own superiors seemed willing to leave him seconded to the Cheltenham force for as long as possible necessary. One could see why...

However, there's still a lot to like in the book. The characterisations of the various residents of the square are well done, even if they tend to be a little stereotyped. This is a typically upper middle class square, full of bankers and retired army officers and elderly spinsters. Some of the people are just what they seem, but some have secrets hidden behind their respectable façades which are gradually revealed as the book progresses. Bude creates the setting well and some of the secrets give it a slightly darker tone than it feels as if it's going to have at first. And there's lots of humour in it too, sometimes a bit clunky like when the local Inspector uses his young subordinate as the butt of his stupidity jokes (ironic, given the profundity of his own intellectual lapses!), but at other times light and fun, like the two elderly sisters and their dismay at not really knowing the correct etiquette for dealing with a murder investigation. The detectives get there in the end, of course, but more by luck than anything else.

Not one of the better of these British Library Crime Classics, in truth. I found it dragged quite a bit, mainly because it took the police so long to realise things that had been obvious for chapters. The quality of the writing and characterisation lifted it, but the whole detection aspect lacked any feeling of authenticity for me, and the murder method, while quite fun, struck me as overly contrived. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other John Bude I've read, Death on the Riviera, but it was still a reasonably enjoyable read overall. So a fairly half-hearted recommendation for this one, I'm afraid. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.

Regency Square, with its “Georgian origins,” is a prestigious neighbourhood in the town of Cheltenham Spa. It’s composed of a mere ten houses in a quiet-cul-de-sac with all the houses facing a “central communal square of grass.” The area sounds so peaceful, and there’s the sense that this is a “quiet, residential backwater in which old people can grow becomingly older, undisturbed by the rush and clatter of a generation which has left them nothing but the memories of a past epoch.” But of course, as any self-respecting crime readers know, appearances are deceiving.

When John Bude’s crime novel The Cheltenham Square Murders opens, the residents of this elite neighbourhood with its forced intimacy are quarreling over whether or not an old elm tree should be cut down. The residents are divided on the subject, but while this may seem the overriding issue in the neighbourhood, there’s actually a few scandals afoot. The dashing “floridly handsome,” car salesman Captain Cotton, who rides in and out of the Square on his very loud motorbike, is conducting an affair with Mrs West, and the residents are scandalised and appalled. In the meantime, Mr West not only seems in danger of losing his wife, but he’s also lost his fortune after taking the investment advice of his neighbour, stockbroker Buller.

When Captain Cotton is shot through the head with an arrow, there is no shortage of suspects since several residents of the Square are proficient members of the Wellington Archery Club. But of course, since Captain Cotton had an affair with West’s wife, West immediately becomes the prime suspect.

As luck would have it, Aldous Barnet, “writer of detective stories” happens to be staying in his sister’s house in the Square and he’s invited Inspector Meredith to spend part of his holiday in Cheltenham Spa. Although the local coppers are called to the scene for Captain Cotton’s murder, both Aldous Barnet and Meredith can’t resist becoming involved.

John Bude gives us a lively assortment of residents to spice up this police procedural including the militant Miss Boon who believes that “dogs were the only sensible housemates,” two elderly spinster sisters, the “aloof” Sir Wilfred Whitcomb and his wife Lady Eleanor, the fussy Reverend Matthews along with his sister Annie, “a faded, anaemic creature in nondescript clothes,” who acts as his housekeeper and who has been “agreeing with him for over forty years.”

With West as the very obvious prime suspect, we all know that the case can’t be so simple, and Barnet and Meredith begin digging under the surface of life in the Square to capture the real culprit.

Even though I guessed the identity of the real killer before the real sleuths did, the fun here is twofold: the assortment of residents and the liberal humour in so many scenes. Bude clearly had fun with this tale and intended his readers to put their feet up and enjoy the ride. The crime takes place in a very small neighbourhood, and it’s clear that the forced intimacy has festered and fostered murder. While this is not the strongest entry in the British Library Crime Classics series, its intention is to be a fun, diversionary read, and in this, it succeeds

Review copy

The Cheltenham Square Murders by John Bude was originally published in 1937. It has been re-released as part of the British Library Crime Classics series. While some of the terms used then are no longer used, the book is still wonderful. Superintendent Meredith is visiting a friend in Cheltenham Square when a puzzling murder is committed. He extends his visit to help solve the crime. I enjoyed the setting and characters of this book which reminded me a bit of Agatha Christie. This is an excellent example of a classic British crime novel!

3.75 stars

Classic Golden Age British procedural. The plot is suitably elaborate, there is the requisite overabundance of suspects, and the coppers are charming and fun.

Thanks you Net Galley and the publisher for providing an ARC in return for my honest feedback.

This is the second Superintendent Meredith mystery I have read and I like this one less than the first. John Bude was a tremendously popular writer, who liked to write stories set in real places. His evocation of place was one of the selling points for his works.

Here the problem is not the setting, it is that most of the text is dialogue. The characters are never quiet. We could say, perhaps, that that was the style of the day, but I did not enjoy all the noise.

I received a review copy of "The Cheltenham Square Murder: A British Library Crime Classic" by John Bude aka Ernest Carpenter Elmore (Poisoned Pen Press). It was first published in 1937 and has been reissued by Poisoned Pen Press in collaboration with the British Library.

In Regency Square in Cheltenham with its diverse characters the last thing the residents would expect to happen was a murder. And an unusual one at that - an arrow through the head. As Superintendent Meredith is staying with one of the residents and is first on the scene he takes charge.
It did seem to take them quite a while to find the guilty party, given the descriptions we were given I would have thought the solution would have come quicker but still an interesting mystery.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. Thank you.

This is one of those classic historical mysteries I would not have been aware of if it weren't for Poisoned Pen Press being willing to work with books being re-released by the British Library. I had read one John Bude novel and was pleased to see this one is set in Cheltenham, a city in Britain I'm not familiar with. The opening of this novel can be a little confusing because a murder happens in a section of Cheltenham called Regent Square which has ten residences in a U shape positioned around a park-like area. Thus you will be introduced to all the residents of the ten houses to begin the story. Don't worry, though, because the most important characters quickly come to the forefront and the book concentrates on them. Originally published in 1937, this novel is a great example of the quality mystery novels being written during this period. This is also one of those novels where it appears that an unknown narrator is often speaking directly to the reader. I enjoy that type of novel so this one had the potential to be a special reading experience for me.

Superintendent Meredith of the Sussex County Constabulary, Lewes, Sussex is the major investigator in this story. He is taking a few days to visit his friend, Aldous Barnet, a writer of mystery stories. Barnet and Meredith are going to collaborate on a story which accounts for the policeman being on the scene in Regency Square. One very unusual detail in this type of novel is that many of the residents of this square are also members of an archery club. Guess what the murder weapon is! Meredith is given permission by his extremely generous boss in Lewes to remain on the scene to help the Cheltenham police detective work out the who, why, and definitely the how.

This was a very interesting novel from many standpoints, two of which are how the murders were committed and what the motive was. There is no way I would or could have figured out the method for the murders but that's okay, I was having so much fun it didn't matter that I couldn't guess how. Hmm, I didn't guess who either now that I think about it.

It’s a straight forward who-done- it without too many surprises. Not that I could figure out the solution, I was wrong right up to almost the last page. Strong motives, false clues, red herrings, multiple crimes, and conspiracies kept me completely mystified.
I like how it was put together. The crime was committed, the police called in, and they work to a solution. Bude gave his readers just a bit more info than he gave his detective, or did he? Could that bit of info you’re so sure is vitally important really be just another red herring, or is it the key to the whole mystery? And what a cast of characters! Was it the militant Miss Boon, the delightfully horrified Misses Watt, the inconvenienced Dr. Pratt, how about the wronged Mr. West, or one of the others?
It was a puzzle. Trying to untangle it was fun even if I didn’t actually get the right solution.
Only… I wish he hadn’t been so free with the curse words. They were fairly liberally spread throughout the book either fully written out or in their dialect appropriate abbreviations.
I received this book as a free ARC from NetGalley and Poison Pen Press. No review was required.

Previously I’ve read John Bude’s second book- The Lake District Murder, a police procedural, showing in intricate detail how detectives investigated a crime, particularly in rural areas in the mid 1930s, in which I found his calculations of the times and distribution of petrol deliveries a bit difficult to follow.

But by the time he wrote The Cheltenham Square Murder Bude’s style had become more refined and I found it much easier to follow, whilst still writing in detail about the suspects and how the crime could have been and was committed. It is quite complicated, a real puzzle to solve, first of all just how the murder was carried out and secondly who out of the several suspects was the murderer.

There is a plan of the fictional Regency Square showing the layout of the ten houses and their occupants. Bude describes the residents giving a good idea of their personalities and relationships. As in all communities, they don’t all get on, ‘outwardly harmonious yet privately at loggerheads’. Those who belong to the Wellington Archery Club are keen, even fanatically keen archers, so immediately they are suspects.

It is fortunate for the local police that Superintendent Meredith from the Sussex County Constabulary is staying in the Square and helps Inspector Long unravel the mystery, but not before another there is a second victim, again murdered with an arrow in the head.

It’s a slow-paced mystery, both Meredith and Long spend much time working out how the murder was committed and Bude drops in several red herrings to confuse matters as first one then another of the residents comes under suspicion. I enjoyed trying to work it out, but although I had an idea about the guilty person I couldn’t see how the murders had been achieved until the method was revealed.

Martin Edward’s introduction gives a brief biography of John Bude, whose real name was Ernest Carpenter Elmore (1901 – 1957). For a time he was a games master at St Christopher School in Letchworth where archery was one of the pupils’ activities.

My thanks to the publishers, Poisoned Pen Press in association with the British Library, and NetGalley for my copy of this book which has an introduction by Martin Edwards.

Superintendent Meredith is visiting a friend who lives in Cheltenham Square. He is only there 3 days when he is called upon to become involved in solving a horrific murder.

A man had been sitting in a chair, when he is shot in the back of the head with an arrow.

Captain Cotton, the victim turns out to be a rather nasty man. His murder certainly could make several people happy.

Cheltenham Square is a rather nice place to live. The people who live there are apparently all well to do. And several of them are members of an archery club. So, the arrow could have come from several people and several houses.

The square's occupants all know one another very well. Slowly the gossip starts drifting to Superintendent Meredith. He becomes aware of the people most likely to have wanted Captain Cotton dead. But, things are not always as they appear.

Then there is another murder done in the same method and the questions which arise seem to have no answers at all.

Before this book, I had never read anything by John Bude. That is rather sad for me. John Bude was the pen name of Ernest Elmore. He wrote his books in the golden age of mystery. This book was originally published in 1937. Although some things seem dated, the bones of this story and the reasoning in solving the murder are very fresh.

I enjoyed this story very much. It is evident that Mr Bude knew his way around a mystery.

The character development is interesting. As events unfold, we learn about the people who live in the square. At the same time, we learn the way Superintendent Meredith thinks and Inspector Long is right there helping plan the next step. The two of them make a good team.

The plot is a good one. Several times, I thought I knew and then I didn't know it all. It kept me turning pages.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

A very enjoyable oldie from the golden years of crime fiction.

I’m grateful to NetGalley for supplying this e book in return for an honest review. It’s the third of John Bude’s between the wars classic murder mysteries that I’ve read, reprinted as a British Library series of crime classics, which is a great idea. Like the others, this comes with an excellent introduction by the crime author, Martin Edwards, who is obviously a fan of the genre, as am I. I have a collection of over 250 old green and white Penguin paper backs. Every so often I love dipping backwards into this era as a change, ( relief ? ), from some of today’s fiction.

“Who done it’s” of this era between the wars were always puzzles to be solved. The clues are all there. You just have to stay alert. Emotion and psychology, as in modern murder mysteries, doesn’t come into it. It’s pure cerebral reasoning. I felt that I should be making a list and drawing diagrams in order to see who had been doing what and at what times .I believe in the print version there may have been a sketch plan of the imaginary Regency Square in Cheltenham where the murders take place, clearly showing the various houses. This would have been useful. Despite the book having been written eighty years ago it didn’t seem obviously dated. Police methods were very different, life moved at a slower pace and communications were often through a phone box on the corner, unless the more wealthy residents had a phone at home. But this is to be expected. Class distinction was also obvious which jarred a little but that is viewing it through modern eyes. It was a pleasure to read well written English, although I did wonder if it was thought so eighty years ago.

The murders take place in a square of imposing Regency houses, which is more a u shape with a road across the fourth side. This allows the device of restricting the victims / suspects to the residents of these houses, plus one or two others. The crimes are investigated by Superintendent Meredith, of Sussex police, a character who has appeared in previous books by this author, who just happens to be staying with a friend in the Square and is allowed to get involved, ( it wouldn’t happen today ), and Inspector Long of the local constabulary. He drops his aitches to show that he is lower class.

To me this book was an absolute delight. But I do realise that you would probably have to be a fan of the between the wars classic murder mystery to appreciate it.