"The Theft of the Iron Dogs" is a mystery originally published in 1946 and set in England. The detective was likable. A lot of his investigation involved getting the locals to provide information and then sort through the known facts to comment on what they felt the clues pointed to. He did his own questioning and observing of suspects, plus he got others to gather some needed information from outside the area. He's able to put it all together to discover whodunit (both the thefts and the murder) and catch the murderer in the act of attempting another murder. There were enough clues that I was able to correctly guess whodunit shortly before the reveal.

There was a fair amount of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.

‘why the devil do we equate civilisation with cities..[ ..]’

The Theft of the Iron Dogs was written in 1946 and is now being reissued by British Library Classic Crime with a foreword by Mark Edwards.

I have been a golden age mystery and Agatha Christie devotee since my youth and am familiar with Lorac's books, including the novels she wrote under one of her pseudonyms, Carol Carnac. Some of the stories seem somewhat dated to today's readers in terms of views, morals and traditional gender roles.

I am happy to see these classic crimes are coming back into the public domain through the British Library Classic Crime series.


E.R.C. Lorac passed away in 1958. In her novels in Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald, a "London Scot" and an avowed bachelor with a love for walking in the English countryside plays a leading role.

I am a 'daft southerner' who has spent most of my life and time mainly in the South Downs - the Dales have been my go to 'holiday area'.

It is beautifully descriptive, of cows frolicking, of farming the land and the beautiful surroundings, and of people trying to pick up a bit of life after the war; life is simple, food is rationed (which would last until 1954), in this close-knit community where people help each other and know each other.

Giles Hogett, a bookseller turned farmer living in the Dales with his wife Kate, 'who was a wonderful fifty', notices that fishing tackle, waders, a washing line, a tin of sardines and two iron dogs have been stolen from their cottage. He is quick to point out the culprits, but his wife Kate urges him to write a story about it for Scotland Yard. Not long after, MacDonald arrives to investigate.

I really like Lorac's novels and have read a number of them, but this one was still missing from my library, so I am delighted that I was able to read this book via Netgalley.
I regularly buy the British Classic Crime Library series from Amazon, sometimes as an audiobook - unfortunately a subscription to this series was not possible (I'm on the European mainland, so I had to make do with the Kindle version), but fortunately the paperbacks are now available in Dutch bookstores, which is great.

I enjoyed this very much: the language, the period atmosphere, the wonderful descriptions of the Dales and how farmers used to live.

I was a tad sad when I finished the story. My paperback edition of Murder as a Fine Art (written as Carol Carnac) is coming my way in January 2025. I can't wait! What a wonderful way to start the New Year!

5+ stars, highly recommended!

Oh wow is this good writing of a style we don't see anymore, of an age that is gone.

Mr. Lorac's descriptive prose is wonderful. He evokes rural Lancashire with a clear eye. He celebrates the intelligence of farmers without worship. He balances their skills with the entirely different set of skills of the London detectives. Each is useful. Each should be respected. The information about land management practices is fascinating.

The bad guys in this story are interlopers, who don't recognize and value the attributes of the farmers and they get caught because of it.

There is very little action in this book but the story moves forward quickly.

Good characterization and setting, but a little too roundabout | I've read quite a few Lorac novels by now, and she really did make the scene come to life on the page. I always enjoy an outing with MacDonald, and here he's so pleased with the company he keeps that it's even better. However, I never found myself particularly caring about the actual mystery, and the reason behind it was confused and not much bothered with until the end. Admittedly I read this much more in fits and starts than usual, as I was in and out of hospital, but I don't think the author particularly cared about the murder aspect when she wrote it. It was an excuse to write about a place and people she loved.

Lunesdale. Farmer Gile Hoggett contacts DCI MacDonald at Scotland Yard about thefts at a cottage on his lands. On arrival he finds more thefts have occurred, and a sighting of a man missing from London, a racketeer. But soon a body is discovered.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main character supported by a cast of varied personalities. It can easily be read as a standalone story. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Originally published in 1946

I believe that “The Theft of the Iron Dogs: A Lancashire Mystery” is my 10th mystery featuring Chief Inspector Robert MacDonald, and my 11th from Ms. E.C.R. Lorac, and they have all been routinely quite good, if not downright excellent.

We are back in Lunesdale, an area of England much beloved by the author, right after the end of the Second World War, during a rainy September. Ex-bookseller and current farmer Giles Hoggett goes down to his seldom-used cottage by the river and immediately notices that someone had entered his cottage, and this squatter had stolen several items of little value while leaving other more valuable loot alone. Puzzled by this odd occurrence, he confides in a local farmer who happens to know Inspector MacDonald, and decides to write to him just to get it off his conscience.

Back in London, Inspector MacDonald is busy pursuing a ring of coupon racketeers, led by conman Gordon Ginner, who has disappeared. Using a tenuous excuse to visit his beloved Lancashire countryside, MacDonald is soon enthralled by Hoggett’s mystery, and realizes that the stolen items would be very handy to someone looking to hide a body in deep water. Very quickly, Ginner’s body is discovered and MacDonald now has a legitimate murder case on his hands. Using his deductive skills as well as relying on the help of the locals, MacDonald works his way through the clues and puzzles as he attempts to bring a murderer to justice.

As mentioned in previous reviews of this series, this is another great procedural from a bygone era, MacDonald is a slow and steady plodder in the best way possible. But the real joy is the depiction of this little corner of England at this particular period of time – it is obvious that Ms. Rivett loves the people, loves the land. Her stories continue to amaze me in their characters and the quality of the writing. I look forward to the remaining 35 or so books of hers!

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

The titular “iron dogs” are two canine-shaped fireplace irons to hold the logs in a fireplace hearth in a Lancaster cottage. With that out of the way, several odd items of not much value are stolen, while more profitable ones are not. That gets bookseller-turned-farmer Giles Hoggett to mail a letter to Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald. Wanting a break, he uses the low-level theft as an excuse to spend a weekend in his beloved Lancashire.

While Macdonald tries to take a vacation, murder does not. While there, Macdonald realizes that the weaselly suspect in his current case in London has made his way to Lunesdale, Lancashire, where Macdonald is staying.

While <i>The Theft of the Iron Dogs<i> is 28th book in the series, these novels can be read in any order, and newbies won’t have any trouble with it. For those who fall in love with the Lune Valley, a real-life valley in North England, as Macdonald does, be assured that he will revisit Lunesdale again and again.

Special thanks to British Library and Poisoned Pen Press for re-releasing another of E.C.R. Lorac’s wonderful Golden Age mysteries.

This book was also published as Murderer’s Mistake.

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

This is an old school cozy kind of mystery that I quite enjoyed. It was a pleasant weekend read, and I’m happy to see some of these worthy old titles being republished.

cozy-crime, British-Crime-Classics, British-detective, vintage-cozy-mystery, Yorkshire, Lancashire, series, suspense, crime-fiction, dairy-cows, rural, local-law-enforcement, investigations, murder, fishing*****

Classic is right! Due diligence beats lack of legal evidence and unavailability of forensic technology. I mean, it was written in 1946! Giles Hoggett is a bookseller turned dairy farmer whose pleasant wife keeps telling him to write his stories down. Inspector Robert MacDonald is a London CID man who used to be well acquainted with Hoggett. When there is some dodgy theft and a missing person in the area, Hoggett writes it up with wife's approval and contacts MacDonald to come up for some fishing and to check out what's going on. The local law is not offended, there is investigating to be done, and it even turns out to assist in a fraud case MacDonald was stumped on. Good writing, delightful characters, beautiful scenery, and a nice look into the past.
I requested and received a free temporary efile from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
#TheTheftOfTheIronDogs by E.C.R. Lorac #LancashireMysteries #BritishLibraryCrimeClassics @PoisonedPenPress #VintageBritishCrime #InspectorMacDonald #Series #CozyProcedural @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble @kobobooks @waterstones ***** #Review @booksamillion @bookshop_org @bookshop_org_uk

I was curious about this author, whose mysteries I had never read, and the setting - England shortly after World War II - was tempting. It was an interesting read. While I'm not a fan of the puzzles in old school mysteries, and this one is chock full of the equivalent of train time-tables as the key to the mystery (yawn), I loved the northern setting. It's clear the author loves the landscape of the Lancashire Dales and its farming inhabitants and the descriptions are terrific. The treatment of a traveler couple is initially concerning (a sympathetic character immediately assumes they're guilty of something because of who they are) but becomes more nuanced and interesting. There's also a nice contrast between the immediate post-war experience of southern and urban England with this farming area where eggs are plentiful and the kind of greed that motivates a conman to make money off of stolen clothing rations is a foreign import.

So, high marks for setting and character development (especially of the good guys and the hapless artist). Fewer points for plot - it had potential, and lots of red herrings, but got awfully bogged down in retelling clues over and over as the classic puzzle mysteries so often indulged in. Glad I read it, but I doubt I'd go out of my way to read more.

Three stars plus one for reprinting a largely forgotten woman mystery author.

3.5* A Scotland Yard detective is called up to Lancashire to investigate a robbery - that turns out to be a murder. He's assisted by local police and a couple of very observant civilians - who were the original burglary subjects. The setting, in the dales and small towns, is a central character in the story, and very reminiscent of descriptions in All Creatures Great and Small, which is set just to the north. The time period, immediately following WWII, is also a minor factor that adds points of interest that classic mystery fans should appreciate. I would give this more stars, but the investigators spend an awful lot of time sitting around discussing clues, rather than the story showing them to us. I don't mind a big explanatory scene at the end of a mystery, but it gets tedious after too long.
Thanks to the publisher and Negalley for the arc!

This was my first E. C. R. Lorac book. I really enjoyed her descriptions of the Lancashire area. It gave a good visual of the fells and the isolated landscape of the book. And there was a coziness to this book in setting and interactions with some of the characters. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her Detective McDonald and hope that his assistant, Reeves will be at his side as well in some of her other books.

I didn’t expect her writing to be so rich with description and characters. It seems like many of the mystery writers of her time were more sparse with the descriptions of place and building their characters, instead just focusing on the mystery.

It was a good mystery, though at times, I found it a bit confusing to keep track of the different suspects. I didn’t guess who or why they murdered their victim. Though I did suspect them towards the end. I’m looking forward to reading more of her books. Definitely a good writer and deserves her place in the British Library Crime Classics.
#TheTheftOfTheIronDogs #NetGalley

The Theft of the Iron Dogs is pure enjoyment. Every time an E. C. R. Lorac book becomes available, I hunker down with it in my lap in happy anticipation. Her writing ingenuity always impresses and enriches my reading experience. I love her wit, evocative descriptions (in this case, the landscape, livestock, fishing, harvest, cabin and food) and brilliant characterization. Written in 1946, this novel is refreshingly gentle and original, such a treat. I live in a rustic rural location and identify with the rhythms of the land, topography and weather.

Former bookseller Giles Hogett and his wife Katherine are modest land owners in the rural district of Lunesdale, Lancashire, where neighbours help neighbours. Fishing is one of the most precious pastimes and the biggest crime is fishing without a permit. That is, until a strange array of articles disappear from the Hogett family cabin which is a tranquil getaway for guests and themselves. Hogett contacts CID Macdonald in a beautifully-written letter and the latter cannot resist the multisensory lure of Lancashire. He and the Hogetts get along famously and they investigate the thefts in their own ways, from different perspectives. A man goes missing and murder meanders into their peaceful idyll. Neighbours become suspects and some answer probing questions more freely than others.

Salt-of-the-earth Hogetts would be fantastic neighbours! Descriptions of Katherine's cooking and baking are mouthwatering. Comraderie between Macdonald and the Hogetts is easy and natural. The mystery is a good one, if a bit predictable, but oh, how I loved the setting and writing! Thankfully, Lorac wrote many novels...but there is no such thing as enough.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a digital copy of this outstanding book...and for giving British Library Crime Classics readers the opportunity to get lost in the pages of these treasures.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc.

I had heard of this author’s name in reference to the “Golden Age” of murder mysteries so when I saw this arc, I decided to give it a try. I both liked the book as well as had some problems with it. Lorac had lived at the time and in the region in which the story takes place so the details of place and time are impeccable. But despite the plethora of clues, it takes a wee bit of Criminal Investigation Department exposition to wrap things up.

This book is very much a product of its place and time – the place being Lancashire England and the time stretching from roughly 1914-1946. The fells and the people who live there are baked into the who, what, when, where, and why of it. The UK was still dealing with rationing and coupons and the older ways were still important and kept to.

Giles appreciates it when sheep herder Bob Moffat opens up and tells Giles things he’d seen out on the dales (fields). Giles knows that Bob notices things much as Giles noted an important clue that led him to kick off the investigation.

Life in these Northern dales is ancient and things like fishing rights and knowledge of your own land, the beasts that live on it – both domesticated and not – are important. Southerners might scoff at the taciturn people here but if you know them and understand them and what is important to them, they’ll treat you right.

Clues and bits of information pile up. Giles’ lovely wife tells MacDonald an important thing she thinks about the killer. She finishes with some more insights for MacDonald that I won’t spoil but Kate, as well as Giles and Giles’ cousin George, realize some things but aren’t quite as skilled as MacDonald in putting all the clues together. So this is a cozy but not one in which the police get shown up by the amateurs.

I also like Inspector MacDonald and want to read some more books with him in them. MacDonald is shrewd and like Bob Moffatt, he notices things. He is also a decent person who wants to close a case but is not one to jump to the obvious suspect. In fact, he tells Giles, Kate, and George that his fear is not being able to eliminate an obvious suspect in time to keep that suspect from being arrested, tried, and convicted.

There are a lot of possible suspects in this case and MacDonald and his assistant, the delightful Cockney officer Reeves, spend much time hunting down clues, sifting the evidence, pondering it all, and then making decisions. This is a slower paced mystery with a lot of description as so much of that is important. When MacDonald reveals what led him to suspect a certain person, much of the evidence we know because we were along for the ride when it was discovered. However, there are a few things that I still didn’t know how point A led to conclusion B until MacDonald tells them and even then, I can see how these things fit into the grand scheme of things but don’t know how he figured it out. Oh, well. I enjoyed the setting and the characters enough that I’m not going to let that bother me. B-