The Hog’s Back Mystery

A British Library Crime Classic

by Freeman Crofts

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

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Pub Date Jul 07 2015 | Archive Date Jul 07 2015

Description

'As pretty a piece of work as Inspector French has done … On the level of Mr Crofts’ very best; which is saying something.’ – Daily Telegraph Dr James Earle and his wife live in comfortable seclusion near the Hog’s Back, a ridge in the North Downs in the beautiful Surrey countryside. When Dr Earle disappears from his cottage, Inspector French is called in to investigate. At first he suspects a simple domestic intrigue – and begins to uncover a web of romantic entanglements beneath the couple’s peaceful rural life. The case soon takes a more complex turn. Other people vanish mysteriously, one of Dr Earle’s house guests among them. What is the explanation for the disappearances? If the missing people have been murdered, what can be the motive? This fiendishly complicated puzzle is one that only Inspector French can solve. Freeman Wills Crofts was a master of the intricately and ingeniously plotted detective novel, and The Hog’s Back Mystery shows him at the height of his powers. This new edition of a classic mystery is introduced by the crime fiction expert Martin Edwards.

Available Editions

EDITION	Paperback
ISBN	9781464203817
PRICE	$12.95 (USD)

Additional Information

Average rating from 31 members

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Featured Reviews

Stephenie S, Reviewer

Mystery lovers will delight in seeing the return of The Hog's Back Mystery to print. It is an exemplary British mystery with a murder so ingeniously plotted that it seems almost certain the culprit or culprits will get away with the crime. Crofts plays fair with his audience, providing all of the necessary clues to successfully solve whodunit, but that is not to say the mystery is straightforward.

Dr James Earle and his wife live a quiet life at Hog's Back in the beautiful Surrey Countryside. When Dr Earle disappears, without his outdoor shoes, coat or hat, Inspector French is called in to investigate. After a house guest mentions seeing Dr Earle with a young lady in town earlier in the week, the police suspect that Dr Earle has abandoned his wife for a younger lover. But the pieces don't add up. Earle's wife insists that he wouldn't leave without telling her, and none of his clothing is missing. Neither has any money been taken from the household accounts. When one of the Earle's guests disappears in the same manner, it becomes clear that it's a case of murder. But who, how, and why?

Freeman Crofts is a fiendishly clever author, able to create intricate puzzles that challenge readers' intellect and imagination. The sheer complexity of the crime is astounding, and the novel is all the more entertaining for it. Guessing whodunit is nothing without determining proof of how it was done.

The Hog's Back Mystery is a jewel from the Golden Age of Mystery, certain to be savored by a new generation of mystery lovers.

The Hog's Back Mystery is available for preorder and will be released July 7, 2015

I received a copy of The Hog's Back Mystery from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

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Vanessa B, Reviewer

I received a copy of The Hog's Back Mystery from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

The Hog's Back Mystery firmly asserts itself as a "puzzle" mystery, but plays very fair with the reader (even providing a round up of the case with page references to check our detective's logic). One must definitely enjoy the Golden Age style - the characters are not much more than pieces on Mr. Crofts chessboard - but I, for one, am not particularly interested in the inner turmoil of scruffy inspectors and found this book a delight. This is a mystery that asks the reader to engage in the intellectual task of solving the case and assumes that he or she is up to that task. Highly recommended.