I recently was lucky enough to hear Martin Edwards, editor of the British Crime Library series, speak. He noted that Lorac has been one of the most popular authors among those whose books have been reprinted. He has written the introduction to this one.

Nicholas and June are both affected by the events of WWII. Nicholas, discharged with an injury, is trying to find peace and to farm in Devon. June’s husband is a POW in Japan. What will happen when the lives of these characters intersect? Read this one to find out.

A great series of books rediscovering some fantastic forgotten crime authors. E.C.R Lorac really is a forogtten master of the crime novel. If you like classic crime, don't miss this one.

Poisoned Pen Press began publishing a series called British Library Crime Classics, with introductions by Martin Edwards, several years ago. Long out-of-print British mysteries are reintroduced, with gorgeous covers, to an eager audience--I am one of them--that has discovered, through the wonders of the Internet, a number of OOP authors. Fire in the Thatch, originally published in 1946 and taking place just shortly before that date, is a thoroughly wonderful example of the lost mystery gems in the imprint. Fire in the Thatch takes place in Devon, England, where a war hero has rented a ramshackle thatched cottage, located in a remote village, that he intends to restore. A tragic accident follows, an accident that someone believes was not accidental at all, and Scotland Yard is called in. I loved this book! It's superbly well written, with great attention to detail, an atmospheric sense of place and time that made me feel I was there, and believable characters, some nice, some not nice. Ms. St. Cyres, Nicholas Vaughan, Inspector Macdonald, and respectful recreations of charming yet quirky Devon natives were all well drawn. The mystery is intriguing, and carefully spun out so that the reader, if they try, may guess what happened. I am eager to read more by Lorac, and find more new favorite authors through Poisoned Pen's BLCC imprint. Perfect summer reading. Highly recommended.

Fire in the Thatch is a re-release of a mystery originally published in 1946 and re-released in the British Crime Classics series. Published 5th June 2018 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 240 pages and available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook versions. This reformat and release includes a new introduction and historical notes by Martin Edwards.

This particular book is one of a series set in Devon by E.C.R. Lorac (Edith Caroline Rivett) featuring Chief Inspector Robert MacDonald. This is classic golden age mystery and the gems which have been selected for inclusion in this series are all well deserving of being dusted off and presented to a new audience of mystery lovers. I was unfamiliar with this author before reading another book in this series, but these are top shelf, well written and satisfying mysteries. The writing is solid and the plotting moves the story along at a good pace.

I will say that this was a melancholy read for me. I was sad that there wasn't really any 'happily ever after' aspect of the plotting or for the characters. On the other hand, the writing, plotting, characters, and mystery were thoroughly enjoyable, and I highly recommend the book and this author.

Four stars.

This is a re-visit of an old friend. Chief Inspector MacDonald is a likable character. He slowly looks through all the possibilities to discover the truth. All the characters seem real. The setting sounds like the perfect place to visit. I will definitely search out more of this author’s work. It is timeless in its take on everyday problems and opinions that are still with us today.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

I found the book enjoyable. The retro scene and characters gave a real sense of place to the book. The mystery part had me guessing. A clean read, it was quite well done. For a real trip through another time, I recommend this mystery.

This is an older English mystery—first published in 1946—and it’s a good one. The mystery is not easily solved; the characters are complex and interesting; and I loved the setting of the English countryside just before the end of WWII. An interesting, clean old-fashioned detective story by a great writer. I enjoyed reading this classic mystery. English mystery fans, don’t miss this one!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Published in 1946 and set at the end of WWII sets the tone for the book. I enjoyed this historical fiction about a time when life was different. I found this to be a true British cozy/police procedural which is one of my favorite genres! I will definitely be reading more by ECR Lorac. I received a copy from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

When Nicholas Vaughan, a respectable tenant farmer, dies in a fire, many people come under suspicion. These include the disliked Gressingham, a wealthy businessman, with an interest in buying country property, Gressingham’s rather sleazy friend and even Vaughan’s sister. When Scotland Yard Inspector Macdonald gets on the case, the mystery thickens even more. Why did Vaughan settle in Devon instead of his beloved North and who was the girl he was planning to marry?

This was an enjoyable and cosy mystery with well-rounded characters and lyrical descriptions of the beauty of the countryside. It was clever as well, keeping the reader guessing until the end. I am looking forward to reading more of E.C. R. Lorac’s classic mysteries.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

Lorac’s Fire in the Thatch is a mystery set toward the end of WWII in the beautiful county of Devon. The local major landowner Colonel St. Cyres has decided to rent out a rundown thatched cottage on his estate with the stipulation that the new tenant improve the property. There are plenty of interested parties, from a rather shiftless local farmer to affluent Londoners looking for a country retreat. St. Cyres settles on a wounded veteran from the north of England who was an experienced farmer back home. Nicholas Vaughan proves to be honorable, hard-working, and a thoroughly likeable person. So it comes as an shock when Vaughan is killed when the cottage is destroyed in a careless fire.

But, wonders St. Cyres and many other locals, Vaughan was not a careless sort of person. They disagree with verdict of accidental death and soon Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Macdonald takes over the case. Macdonald, Lorac’s affable detective, soon uncovers evidence of murder. Who would want to murder such a fine young man?

The strongest aspects of the mystery are the characters. They jump from the pages and the reader can sympathize with the residents whose families have farmed the land for centuries only to see their beloved countryside being changed by outsiders who see only recreational opportunities for wealthy Londoners. Lorac has done a good job of forecasting the inevitable conflicts between tradition and progress.

The least satisfying aspect of the mystery for me was the crime itself. The murderer’s actions seem needlessly complicated to establish an alibi. And, Macdonald, for all of his skill, failed to ask a simple question about a character’s name. Had he down so, the crime would have been solved half way through the novel.

Three stars for the actual mystery and five stars for the poignant look at Devon at the end of WWII.

Fire in the Thatch is set in rural Devon in 1944 and the atmosphere of life in the Devon countryside is highlighted by Lorac’s rich description of the landscape, the traditional ways of farming and the characters. It shows the clear distinctions between the social classes and the tensions between them and the conflicting moral values of the town and country folk. She conveys the sense that change is on the way as the war moves towards its conclusion. The war forms the background to the book – June’s husband is a prisoner of war in Burma, evacuees have been billeted in the countryside and rationing, in particular petrol rationing (which plays an important role in this book) is making life difficult.

The book begins in a leisurely way describing the isolated community of Mallory Fitzjohn and introducing the characters, Colonel St Cyres, his daughter Anne and daughter-in-law June living at Manor Thatch, and Norman Vaughan, a new tenant at Little Thatch, invalided out of the navy with damaged eyesight. Other main characters are Thomas Gressingham, a wealthy stockbroker and a friend of June’s, staying at Hinton Mallory, in the valley below Mallory Fitzjohn, and his friends Howard Brendon, a lawyer interested in buying property and Raymond (Rummy) Radcliffe, a ‘rotund’ speculator.

And then in chapter 5 we learn that Vaughan’s body was found in the burnt-out debris of Little Thatch and Chief Inspector Macdonald of New Scotland Yard has been asked to investigate the case. From that point on the book follows his comprehensive and detailed methods of trying to establish whether his death was accidental and if not what could be the motive for his murder, and if indeed the dead man was Vaughan or someone else. Why had Vaughan, a north country man decided to settle in Devon and who was the woman he had indicated to the St Cyres that he intended to marry?

All of Macdonald’s skills are needed to get to the bottom of this complex mystery which confused me right up until the end of the book. I preferred Bats in the Belfry, but Fire in the Thatch is still an enjoyable book. It’s just that Macdonald’s investigations seemed to drag on a bit too long, and I found it confusing as he described the details of how and when Vaughan had died. But I loved the setting and the characters.

I do hope the British Library will publish more of E C R Lorac’s books – there are plenty to choose from as she wrote forty-eight mysteries under her first pen name, and twenty-three under her second, producing two books a year from 1931 until her death in 1958.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for a review copy via NetGalley.

Really loved the idyllic thatched house and how Nicholas Vaughn was putting his heart and soul into upgrading the house. I hated when that part was over! I guessed incorrectly who did it, it was entertaining just not as good as the other British Library Crime Classic I recently read.

A quiet, cozy British mystery published in 1946 and takes place in Devon at the end of WWII. The story unfolds slowly, with interesting characters and historic detail from the time period. A fire and death are considered an accident until a detective from Scotland Yard is brought in to investigate possible murder. Clues are laid out over time and I was kept guessing to the end. If you like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books, then you would probably enjoy this one.

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

ECR Lorac opens “Fire in the Thatch” with a lovely description of Devon and the Malory community. In no time at all the characters felt like comfortable old friends. Lorac easily leads the reader to trust the locals and dislike the interlopers. The daughter-in-law is particularly off-putting. Her “city friends” a easily disliked and mistrusted. Knowing it is a murder mystery, it was easy to begin suspecting the “city friends” before the murder was even committed.

The murder in this story was never experienced. In fact, when I turned the page from engagement with the local characters to a discussion at Scotland Yard it was, for a moment, confusing as though something was missed. Once the confusion of the transition passed, one is quickly re-absorbed into the story. Lorac lays out clues without giving away the resolution. He weaves an excellent story and although written during WWII, his style is fresh and engaging. Well worth the read.

Ah! The beauty of the Devonshire countryside. Who would dare to blemish this lovely spot with arson and murder? That is the question facing Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard. It’s near the end of World War II and Nicholas Vaughan has retired from the Navy after losing an eye in a shipboard incident. He takes up the tenancy of a cottage and land called Little Thatch in Devon and immediately begins fixing the place up. He’s a very quiet man but lets it slip to his landlord, Colonel St. Cyres, that he is planning to take a wife. That is until the night that the cottage burns down with him in it. The Coroner rules it an accident but Vaughan’s former Navy superior wields his influence and gets MacDonald sent to take a second look at the investigation. What seems straightforward at the outset turns into a very twisty tale.

This book is a British Library Crime Classic and the first I have read by this author. I would say that it reads most like a cozy mystery but with the complexity of classic British crime. The story contains a variety of country and urban characters and makes a point of showing up the contrasts between the two. I found Inspector MacDonald to be what you would expect of Scotland Yard at that time: thorough, professional, and dogged in pursuit of answers. The writing style is a little more formal than today’s mysteries but not difficult to read. There are however some conversations with the Devon natives that are written in dialect and were a bit of challenge to get through. All of that being said, I did really enjoy this story, it’s slightly old-fashioned style being a nice change from the thrillers I’ve recently being reading.

Nicholas Vaughan on being injured takes refuge in Devon by leasing a property called Little Thatch. But in this quite corner of Devon death comes along bringing with it Detective Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.
An enjoyable police procedural story with enough interesting characters to keep the story flowing

In Bats in the Belfry, a lot of people repeat “Detective novels are different from real life” and how a real murder isn’t the fun puzzle mystery novels make it out to be. It comes over as very condescending and didn’t work for me at all. In Fire in the Thatch people also exclaim “this isn’t a detective novel” but they do so as a reaction to one character suggesting that the body that was burned beyond recognition in the fire might not have been the tenant of the thatch. That was in all likelihood also the thought most experienced mystery-readers had. Unrecognisable bodies are always suspicious. But now? Is this really a detective novel that’s not like the other detective novels? Or is it a bluff?

Inspector Macdonald has his own opinion on this question. And a few other ideas about what is and isn’t important in this investigation. Admittedly, he’s rather quick to make these decisions and dismisses some clues for no discernible reason but it is a rather short book (by a very prolific writer). Besides Macdonald’s character makes up for much of this. He’s no genius eccentric or laugh-out-loud funny guy but he has a dry humour that makes for very enjoyable reading.

The setting also adds some unusual elements: not many mysteries are set mid-World War II. And while the location – rural Devon – doesn’t suffer from bombings like London or other big cities, the war has many indirect effects on the people (and the plot), which makes a nice change to many of the murders committed country-houses that are frozen in time and have nearly no connection to the outside world.

MS Lorac mysteries are always delightful. This a wonderful mystery, a hidden gem of the Golden Age.
A very unusual plot that drives us to understand if there was a crime or not.
There are lovely and well written characters, an enchanted settings and the WWII in the background.
The cultural clash between the country dwellers and the outsiders is described in such a current way that makes you cringe.
A great read that is highly recommended.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC

This classic mystery murder is slightly different to the other books found in the series. The murder was more complicated than most and what seemed like an accident was then deemed to be not. To find a motive and to unravel the mystery took some doing and it was this that set this story apart.

Set in beautiful countryside, very descriptive and sounding very "English" this story epitomizes country living - especially farm living. It also depicts the insular ways of established country folk who really do not like weekenders and town folk aping them in anyway! The murder apart the story of the farmers and the community who made up this little part of Devon.

When the cottage goes up in flames killing the occupant in the process it affects many people especially since Nicholas despite not being from Devon, was much admired in the manner he worked and his sincerity to make a success of the farm he leased. Inspector Macdonald has a very convoluted mystery murder to solve. He has an instinct as to the underlying reason why Nicholas was killed but to connect the dots takes a lot of dogged police procedure (which was very well done).

E.C.R. Lorac's "Fire in the Thatch" is such a precious gem from the era of the golden age of detective fiction. Unfortunately, to date, there aren't enough imprints to showcase what a talented writer E.C.R. Lorac was. The two current titles from the British Library Crime Classic are simply delectable and I hope Poisoned Pen Press will consider adding more E.C.R. Lorac's works to the series.

"Fire in the Thatch" was set in the country towards the end of WWII. The author devoted the first few chapters on the rural life and her descriptions of the country were sublime and beautiful. For a split second I forgot I was in fact reading a mystery novel. When most people believed a fire that killed a new inhabitant was an "accident," some fishy gaps prompted a further investigation and Chief Inspector MacDonald of the Scotland Yard was assigned to the case. An unfortunate accident for real? Or a foul play even an intentional murder case? It was a baffling assignment to MacDonald for sure.

Top notch writing, a good paced mystery, "Fire in the Thatch" is a fine read on police procedural. E.C.R. Lorac somehow left me feeling nostalgic to the burned thatch and I couldn't help but to develop some compassion to the few characters who were related to the victim. Thanks to her talent as a storyteller, "Fire in the Thatch" is truly an one-of-a-kind.

The introduction by Martin Edwards is always a wonderful companion to the fiction. He certainly brought my attention to different elements beyond that enlightened my appreciation to the story.

I obtained my ARC via Netgallery. Thanks Poisoned Pen Press for the generosity and your continuation to bring quality classic mystery works back in prints.