Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon
Summary: “No observer,
ignorant of the situation, would have guessed that death lurked nearby, and
that only a little distance from the glitter of silver and glass and the hum of
voices, two victims lay silent on a studio floor.” On a fine autumn weekend,
Lord Aveling hosts a hunting party at his country house, Bragley Court. Among
the guests are an actress, a journalist, an artist, and a mystery novelist. The
unlucky thirteenth is John Foss, injured at the local train station and brought
to the house to recuperate – but John is nursing a secret of his own. Soon
events take a sinister turn when a painting is mutilated, a dog stabbed, and a
man strangled. Death strikes more than one of the house guests, and the police
are called. Detective Inspector Kendall’s skills are tested to the utmost as he
tries to uncover the hidden past of everyone at Bragley Court. This
country-house mystery is a forgotten classic of 1930s crime fiction by one of
the most undeservedly neglected of golden age detective novelists.
Angie’s comments: Thirteen
Guests begins slowly, and you mostly get to know the characters in the
first half. In the second half, the plot revs up, and there are incidents
galore. Who did what? The twist at the end is awesome.
Recommended for
readers who like mysteries written in the early 1900s, such as fans of Agatha
Christie.
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December 22, 2015
Thirteen Guests
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