About the author: We don't know much about Seldon Truss other than his full name was Leslie Seldon Truss, he is from the UK, and lived 1892-1990. He also wrote as George Selmark. He has two titles in the 1930's Mystery League series: Turmoil at Brede and The Hunterstone Outrage.
Major characters:
Miss Philadelphia Hemstone
Edward Lord Harnley, her brother
Michael Chillaton, Lord Harnley's nephew
Stopford, the butler
Bernice Randall, Lord Harnley's sexy new secretary
Major Norton, Justice of the Peace
Jill Norton, his 16-year old daughter
The four escaped prisoners:
- William Minser, a forger
- Bossy Parkwell, a.k.a. "Orion", a safe breaker
- Clifford Neyland, an actor
- Christine Abbott, former secretary to Lord Harnley
Chief Inspector Gidleigh
Henry Paunceforte, a.k.a. "The Hiker", of Scotland Yard
Locale: Bishops Takyll, Devon, England
Synopsis: Michael Chillaton approaches the Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, with a letter from his uncle, Edward Lord Harnley. Harney writes to enlist their help, as be believes he is in danger from a plot involving his former secretary, Christine Abbott, who was jailed for blackmailing him.
Christine has just been sprung from prison by a person unknown (called The Crooks' Shepherd), along with three others: forger William Minser, safe breaker Bossy Parkwell, and actor/fraudster Clifford Neyland.
Chillaton arrives at Bishops Takyll to a chilly reception. Harnley's sister, Miss Philadelphia Hemstone wants him to leave; as does Harley himself. Chillaton seeks the aid of Justice of the Peace Major Norton, and teams up with his adventurous daughter Jill Norton. Things take a dark turn when Harnley is knocked down by a car, butler Stopford is found dead, and Harnley's staff replaced by some sketchy characters who seem to know nothing at all about their jobs.
Review: This is a Chief Inspector Gidleigh story, but he has a small part. The detection is done by Chillaton along with help from Major Norton and Jill. There is quite a long buildup, the murder doesn't happen until about 3/4 of way in.
The mystery (beside the murder) is who is the Crooks's Shepherd? There is quite a lot of misdirection on this point, and the identity is finally revealed at the end, and it fooled me.
Jill Norton is an enjoyable character, she is just sixteen and jumps into the case in a Nancy Drew manner, complete with dog on a leash and flashlight. She is rather a tease and likes to investigate while in a tight jumper and short plaid skirt. Chillaton tends to overlook this, and has his eyes on Christine Abbott instead.
There a lot of simultaneous puzzles throughout and they all get resolved at the end. There are some surprises at the end amongst the Harnleys, and we get a reveal why Harnley's sister, Miss Philadelphia Hemstone, is unmarried yet has a different last name.
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