Draw the Blinds by Seldon Truss, 1936

 

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.

Why Slug a Postman by Seldon Truss, 1950

 

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 Flavia Melrose, owner of the 36 Chester Grove boarding house

Ann Smith, her newly hired secretary/housekeeper

Vincent Dyall, the butler

Mrs. Emily Bagster, the cook

Minnie Smithers, the maid

Emerald Cheese, scullery maid

The boarders:

Miss Adria Blenkarne, Ann's estranged aunt

Miss Fiona McPherson

Mrs. Dampier

Dr. Martin Jones

Sir James Arbour

Lady Blandish-Smyth

Countess Beatrice d'Armande

and...

Bettine Willoughby, Ann's roommate

Mr. Murdoch, Adria Blenkarnes's attorney

Chief Inspector Gidleigh

Locale: London

Synopsis: It all begins when a postman is slugged while collecting letters from a pillar box outside Miss Flavia Melrose's boarding house at 36 Chester Grove. The attacker makes off with letters having been posted from the house.

The boarding house, which Miss Melrose attempts to keep disciplined and upscale, has an eclectic assortment of residents, both men and women. She hires a new secretary/housekeeper, Ann Smith, whose estranged aunt, Adria Blenkarne, is one of the residents. Ann tries to fit in, but has trouble with the uppity staff, headed by butler Vincent Dyall and cook Emily Bagster.

Ann brings canned tins of salmon to Mrs. Bagster for dinner. One tin is clearly bad, rusted and swelled up. Ann directs it be discarded. There is a mixup, and it finds its way into the meal. Several residents come down with food poisoning. Frail Adria Blenkarne succumbs, despite attempts to save her by the resident doctor, Martin Jones. 

Miss Melrose, blaming Ann for disobedience, fires her. Ann leaves the house and moves in her friend Bettine Willoughby. Bettine helps her obtain a job at the lingerie counter at the local Blue Chain store.

Chief Inspector Gidleigh investigates, and finds arsenic in Adria's body. Then Miss Melrose is found dead in her locked bathroom. Ann teams up with Dr. Jones to try to find the culprit and establish her innocence.

Review: This is a lot of fun. We start right off with the postman getting slugged in the first paragraph, but that plot line is then left until the very end. The action occurs in a dysfunctional rooming house ruled by the authoritarian Miss Melrose. 

Some of the boarders are given names but we never hear anything of them. Miss Fiona McPherson, Mrs. Dampier, and Lady Blandish-Smyth are just filler.

There is a teasing love interest throughout the story between Ann Smith and (sometimes) Dr. Jones and (sometimes) Sir James Arbour.

Chief Inspector Gidleigh also appears in Draw the Blinds, and perhaps other titles.

The Hunterstone Outrage by Seldon Truss (1931)

 

The Hunterstone Outrage  by Seldon Truss (1931)

dustjackets.com

About this edition: This edition contains Baffle Case Number One, The McCumber Murder by Lassiter Wren and Randle McKay. Readers were invited to submit their solution to this short, self-contained mystery for a chance at one of the prizes to be awarded in gold. The solution would appear in #22, Bungalow on the Roof by Achmed Abdullah. There would be two more Baffle Cases in the future.

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 one other title in the Mystery League series:  Turmoil at Brede.

Principal characters:

• Daniel Harland, dead on page one, of Hunterstone estate
• Rev. Mr. Hemingway, vicar
• Dr. Henry Gould, doctor and choir member
• Ivor Gould, his son
• Ezra Apps, verger (usher) and sexton
• Joyce Wynnford, niece of Daniel Harland
• Captain Martin Treherne, manager of Hunterstone estate
• Symes, butler of Hunterstone estate
• --- Malchus, traveling lingerie salesman who is quite interested in the case
• Mrs. Farley, landlady of the Hunterstone Arms inn and tavern
• P. C. (Police Constable) Goble
• Police Sergeant Grimwade 

Locale: England

Synopsis:

Daniel Harland did not move during Rev. Hemingway's evening service, and when usher Ezra Apps went to poke him, found him to be dead. Dr. Henry Gould, choir member, checks him and finds he has been dead since before the service. The authorities are called. Rev. Hemingway and Apps wait for them in the vestry, leaving the body unattended. When Sergeant Grimwade arrives on scene, they enter the sanctuary to find the body gone!

Ivor Gould, the doctor's son, goes to Hunterstone estate to inform Harland's niece, Joyce Wynnford, of the death (Ivor is sweet on her). No one grieves too much, as no one liked him anyway. When Sergeant Grimwade investigates, it is found that estate manager Martin Treherne (Joyce is sweet on him) was outside the church in the cemetery at the time of the murder, and does not provide any explanation.

Mr. Malchus comes to stay at the Hunterstone Arms. He is a "commercial traveler" (salesman) of ladies' lingerie, yet never seems to be selling any. He is much more interested in interviewing parties to the case and examining the scene of the crime; and comes up with an astounding revelation.

Review:

I have greatly enjoyed the two Mystery League selections by Seldon Truss. His thriller style turns the story into a real page-turner, with several unexpected twists and turns along the way. Once the action starts, it just multiplies with all-hell-breaking-loose on several fronts simultaneously. I am looking for additonal Seldon Truss titles - not too common in the US, and showing up periodically on eBay.

Turmoil at Brede by Seldon Truss (1931)

 

Turmoil at Brede by  Seldon Truss (1931)

dustjackets.com

About this edition: This edition contains a teaser of the first chapter of the next edition (Death Walks in Eastrepps by Francis Beeding).

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. His writing style about the savvy adventurer type reminds me of Leslie Charteris. He has one other title in the Mystery League series: The Hunterstone Outrage.

Characters:

• Mr. Penn of Pentonville*, a Saint**-like adventurer
• Garnett, butler to Mr. Penn
• Elizabeth Wild, a.k.a. Elizabeth Parsons, suspected of attempted murder
• Barrington Wild, her father
• Dimmer, head butler at Brede Hall
• Lady Hermione Brede, widow of Brede Hall
• Mrs. Vereker-Dane, climbing the ladder of society
• Matthew Vereker-Dane, her husband, a normal guy
• Mary Vereker-Dane, their debutante daughter
• Prince Rudautz of Estuania, a good catch (?) for Mary Vereker-Dane
• Basil Gorman, shady attorney #1
• Charles Latchmer, shady attorney #2
• Monsieur Paul Nicosia, owner of the Temple of Youth beauty parlor
• Detective Inspector Shane

Locale: England

Synopsis:

One night Elizabeth Wild has a late encounter with attorney Basil Gorman in the study at Brede Hall, which ends with a broken window, and Gorman shot and wounded on the floor. She disappears and is immediately suspected. Mr. Penn encounters her and takes her on as his assistant, to find her father Barrington Wild, who has been kidnapped. 

Elizabeth had been trying to negotiate the return of an embezzlement confession, signed under duress by her father, an employee of the law firm of Latchmer and Gorman. The firm has a history of representing society debutantes who marry then die unexpectedly, with a resulting transfer of wealth. 

Latchmer dies from mysterious causes. Mr. Penn discovers a system of coded newspaper advertisements being used between the firm and society households. Elizabeth, under the name Elizabeth Parsons, is placed as a maid to spy on the Vereker-Dane household; and promptly finds herself in peril. The Temple of Youth beauty parlor is more than it appears.

Review:

This is quite a tangle of intrigue. We have society matrons, a beautician, and lawyers dealing in a shady scam triangle to set up debutantes with proper marriages, then causing their deaths to cash in on their estates. Mr. Penn of Pentonville will immediately bring to mind Simon Templar (The Saint) of Leslie Charteris books, and fans of The Saint will feel right at home. He is an adventurer operating under an alias, just on the outside of the Law. Wealthy, with a fast car and fast fists. The action takes place at Brede Hall, the stereotypical country manse; complete with a tower and dungeon - and the Temple of Youth, an elaborate beauty parlor complete with hidden rooms, paintings on the wall with the eyes cut out so spies can peer through them, and a beautician who enjoys performing lobotomies on undesired witnesses. Mr. Penn's true identity will come as a surprise.

* Pentonville Prison
** The Saint, a.k.a. Simon Templar, of the Leslie Charteris novels