I have read a few of Jefferson Farjeon's mysteries and each have left me unsure whether I enjoyed the book or not. This one unfortunately does the same - without giving too much away, I found it a little unbelievable, but having said that, I really wanted to read on to the end.
Well written as most of the books of this era are, just challenging to the senses - which probably is not a bad thing - there are not many modern books that I have read that leaves me thinking.

One might think that the worst thing that could happen to a burglar would be getting caught. But, in J. Jefferson Farjeon’s Seven Dead (a rescued mystery from 1939), not only does the burglar get caught, he also gets caught fleeing the scene of a country house with a room full of dead bodies. From there, Inspector Kendell and journalist Ted Hazeldean take the case. Seven Dead has twist after twist; some these may strain credulity, so be warned.

Seven Dead begins as a locked-room mystery. A burglar discovers six dead men and one dead woman. The bodies show no wounds and, before their deaths, were clearly in straightened circumstances. The shutters were nailed shut. The chimney was stuffed with paper. And the lock to the door is on the outside. Oh, and there’s a bullet hole in a portrait of a young girl. Inspector Kendall, who has a dim view of the abilities of the local constabulary, jumps into action. Ted Hazeldean, a journalist who was in the right place at the right time to capture the fleeing burglar, becomes Kendall’s eager partner in figuring out what happened.

First, we follow Hazeldean as he tracks the owners of the house to Boulonge, France. It is immediately clear that there’s something not right about the owners and the people they’re staying with in France. He gets followed from the docks, locked in a room, and worse—all clearly signs that he’s on the right track. Next, we switch over to Kendall, who draws on all his resources and skill for lateral thinking to work through the puzzle. When they join forces once more, things get really exciting.

I didn’t like Seven Dead as much as I liked the novels of Raymond Postgate (Verdict of Twelve, Somebody at the Door), two other books that were rescued from obscurity by Poisoned Pen Press. Though I suspect that has more to do with my own personal preference for books that mess around with genre and metafiction. Seven Dead is more traditional and provides plenty of clues and red herrings for readers to ponder over. I also had some issues with where the central conspiracy went but, again, that might be a matter of preference.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration. It will be released 6 February 2018.

Seven people found dead inside an isolated house. House locked from the inside. The owners a gentleman and his niece the normal occupants of the house missing. Then traced to France. Motives and suspects are all zero.

The story published in 1939 has an old fashioned air and style of writing which is at the same time charming. Slow paced but steady the investigation is pursued. By deduction it is solved.

Amazon review posted 29/12/2017. Review on my blog posted on 3/1/2018.

I first met the intrepid Inspector Kendall — and his creator J. Jefferson Farjeon — in Thirteen Guests (1936). In that incredibly suspenseful twist on the country-house murder mystery, a journalist/amateur sleuth gets the best of poor Kendall; however, in Seven Dead, published three years after Thirteen Guests, Kendall (once again working with a journalist) cracks a very creepy murder mystery with seven corpses killed at once. The great Dorothy L. Sayers herself called Farjeon “unsurpassed for creepy skill in mysterious adventures,” and he proves it here!

Farjeon, very popular in his day, is nearly forgotten these days — too bad too, as I’ve loved all four of his novels that I’ve read. Those were re-released by British Library and Poisoned Pen Press, which has been steadily bringing back Golden Age crime classics. And they cannot reprint Farjeon novels fast enough for me! Yes, they’re that intriguing!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital copy of this novel.

This began as an interesting read for me until it began to show signs early on of the hot buttons that cause me to argue with a story. I kept on reading and finally ended up at a rather farfetched ending that just didn't satisfy me. Obviously the policeman in this story didn't have even one superior officer he had to report to because he could take off for days and even weeks at a time in pursuit of this criminal. Never mind that he was a regional policeman and not a part of Scotland Yard. Add to that an amateur who happens on the scene and is instantly allowed access to all the police findings and it would be bad enough. In this story it gets even worse because the amateur falls into *adoration* instantly with the sweet young girl of the piece. They have conversations where neither of them finishes a sentence because they just "know" what the other is thinking. Hmm.

This is the story of a crime which had it's beginnings in the past - although the time line is rather confusing and blurred. There are seven suicides to begin with (maybe), some murders, a mutiny aboard ship, a group of castaways, cricket balls and bats, a self-employed journalist, a fainting heroine, a not-so-nice uncle, and a policeman who seems to pull solutions out of the air. It started out well and then it just wasn't. Not a favorite from the British Library Crime Classics series but I did read it all because some bits were interesting.

A petty thief gets a scare when he chooses Haven House for his first household robbery. He discovers the bodies of seven persons in the house. He runs, slowly losing the silverware he picked up. He's pursued by a free-lance journalist, Thomas Hazeldean, as well as a member of the local law enforcement. Haven House was entrusted to the uncle of a young girl to manage until she is able to inherit. Both are missing from the house but were seen at the home during the day. Inspector Kendall is put on the case which leads him and Hazeldean to France and ultimately to the South Atlantic in pursuit of the criminals. This is an early work from the golden age of detective fiction as the genre developed. It's plot, while still engaging, is more simplistic than some. Hazeldean's character needed further development. Most cozies and police procedurals stick with one jurisdiction, but this one takes the reader to different locales, similar to what a thriller might do. It's an enjoyable read. These remarks are based on an electronic advance review copy provided by the author through NetGalley with the expectation an honest review would be written.

A good book that stood the passing of time. Even if it was written in 1939 it is still very enjoyable. It has an unusual plot and it is quite different from the whodunnit of the Golden Age of Mystery. There are very interesting characters and it keeps guessing til the end.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Poison Press.

This reprint from 1939 is the first book I have read by this author. Martin Edwards provided an extremely Illuminating introduction with background information on J Jefferson Farjeon (1883-1955).While his books had gone out of print, Mr. Edwards in his role as Series Consultant to the British Library has the enviable position of learning more about writers such as Mr. Farjeon from family and friends and helping to ensure that quality books and their writers won’t be forgotten. I truly enjoyed reading this mystery and appreciate those whose work allowed me the opportunity to discover Seven Dead.
Inspector Kendall is summoned to Haven House where a gruesome discovery has been made. Seven bodies are found in a locked room, none showing any obvious cause of death. Thomas Hazeldean, a journalist, becomes involved after seeing a man fleeing Haven House. When Inspector Kendall allows him entry to the crime scene, Hazeldean becomes enamored with a girl whose picture he sees on the wall. Dora, the girl in the picture has gone to Boulogne and Hazeldean follows her hoping that when he locates her, she will provide information about the seven deaths. While Inspector Kendall works to solve the case in England, Thomas locates Dora and her uncle and attempts to understand what happened in their house. When the Inspector and Thomas meet again, they share what they each have learned and all the pieces of this mystery come together, as well as the killer’s identity. No spoilers here! The plot and characters reflect the time that the book was written, so while the dialogue is dated, a good mystery is a good mystery and this is a good mystery! The author had my attention on page one, the ending was quite unique and everything in-between was well written. A thoroughly good book and one I recommend.
Thank you, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. My favorite books are those where the reveal takes me totally by surprise and this book certainly accomplished that.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance copy of Seven Dead, a police procedural cum adventure originally published in 1939 and set mostly in Essex and Boulogne. This latest edition has a very informative introduction written by Martin Edwards.

Inspector Kendall is finishing off a week of training the local police when a constable staggers in carrying burglar Ted Lyte and closely followed by journalist Tom Hazeldean. It turns out that Lyte has found 7 dead bodies in a locked room in an empty house. While Kendall continues his investigation in England he manipulates Hezeldean into going to Boulogne to find the missing home owners.

Seven Dead is an interesting read with both good and bad points. The plot is well thought out and fairly addictive so I found myself feverishly turning the pages to find out what was coming next. I am full of praise for the ending which, while rather unreal and definitely unbelievable, is moving, fitting and apt.

Unreal and unbelievable probably sums up much of the novel. Hazeldean falls in love with a portrait of the home owner's niece, Dora Fenner and, moved to help her, he takes off immediately for Boulogne to try and find her, which of course he does. It is all a bit naïve, innocent and chivalrous for modern sensibilities and hardly realistic but not unexpected in a novel of this vintage. His adventures in France, however, are risible from the slapstick fights to the dodgy French and had me laughing out loud.

The plot is, however, compulsive and while many of its devices are coincidental and the investigation hardly scientific or rigorous I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is easy to pick faults with a novel written in a different age for a less informed readership but readability is always one of my main priorities and this novel has it in spades as it held my attention throughout. The solution is ingenious although the motive is age old and the ending is exotic and extremely unusual so, despite its faults, I have no hesitation in recommending Seven Dead as a good read.

"Seven Dead" is a mystery set in England and was originally printed in 1939. Detective Inspector Kendall was observant and quickly worked out what had happened. The question wasn't so much whodunit but rather who the dead people were and why the murderer had killed them. I enjoyed following Kendall's finding of the clues and working out what they meant.

A journalist happened to see the thief leaving the house and so got to see the crime scene. He became enamored with a girl in a painting, and he traveled to talk with her in France before Kendall arrived. Whole conversations were in French. We're given a sense of what was said, but most mysteries don't use quite that much untranslated French. As whodunit was also there, the journalist was in danger. Answers were found in the end, though whodunit's ending was a bit unusual.

There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery/suspense.