AbeBooks
This title, also published as The New Tenant, is available for download from this page at FadedPage.com. It was made into a movie in 1921.
About the author: Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866 – 1946) was an English novelist, a prolific writer of best-selling genre fiction, featuring glamorous characters, international intrigue and fast action. Notably easy to read, they were viewed as popular entertainments. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1927. (wikipedia)
Major characters:
- Guy D. Thurwell, Esq., master of Thurwell Court
- Helen Thurwell, his daughter
- Mr. Bernard Brown, a.k.a. Bernard Maddison, their literary tenant
- Sir Geoffrey Kyniston, Helen's fiancé
- Rachel Kyniston, Sir Geoffrey's sister
- Benjamin Levy, Sr. private detective
- Benjamin Jr., his son
- Sir Allan Beaumerville, a "dilettante" physician
Locale: England
Synopsis: Helen Thurwell is enjoying breakfast al fresco at their Thurwell Court manse with her father, attorney Guy D. Thurwell. They discuss renting out their cottage, Falcon's Nest, on their property. They decide to rent it to a Mr. Bernard Brown, who applied by letter.
Helen is engaged to Sir Geoffrey Kyniston; recently returned from a trip to the continent. Their engagement was a spur of the moment, and Helen has since cooled on him and now regrets it. She is friends with his sister, Rachel Kyniston.
Guy Thurwell, returning from a bird hunt with his friends, discovers Sir Geoffrey is missing from the group. They backtrack to find him dead of a dagger wound. This is confirmed by Sir Allan Beaumerville, a "dilettante" ladies' physician. Rachel, although shocked, is somewhat relieved to be thus released from her engagement.
Rachel meets Bernard Brown and is attracted to his literary tastes, but mystified by his monastic life. She learns he also goes by Bernard Maddison, and has had several trips to the continent which he declines to discuss. She invites him to Thurwell court for a tête-à-tête, during which a raving Rachel Kyniston bursts in with the accusation that Bernard killed her brother in order to get Helen, and promptly falls down dead.
Helen, now a bit suspicious of Bernard's past, engages sketchy private detectives Benjamin Levy Sr. and his son Benjamin Jr. to probe into his history.
Review: Lots of flowery lovers-gazing-into-the-eyes descriptions here. Very small cast of characters (the list above is complete, and two are soon dead), I used process of elimination on the remainder and picked out the murderer right away. The sketchy private detectives were fun - I expected some shady dealings from them, but they turned out a respectable job.
