Tenant for Death

by Cyril Hare

Paperback, 1937

Status

Available

Call number

823.912

Publication

New York: Dover Publications, 1981

Description

Daylesford Gardens, South Kensington, is an unlikely address for the discovery of death by strangulation. Even more unusual is that the house does not belong to the deceased financier. In the meantime, the mysterious tenant, Colin James, has disappeared. Inspector Mallett of Scotland Yard is brought in to unravel a complicated trail.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Eyejaybee

A very enjoyable novel, though not up to the standard of Hare's later work (this was, after all, his first published novel). Yet even here the laconic observation of life was sharply-honed, and the plot was very tightly drawn.
Already Mallet's relentless appetite for a large and solid lunch was

clearly defined, as was his capacity to think along unconventional lines. Although in subsequent novels he might find his friend the down at heel barrister Frank Pettigrew more frequently getting to the solution first, Mallet is far from being the butt of a wisecrack amateur in the way that Inspector Lestrade had so often been.

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LibraryThing member antiquary

A somewhat dubious financier is murdered at a moment of crisis for his business. Inspector Mallett investigates. A steady London mystery without the English countryside atmosphere of Hare's "Markshire" stories.

LibraryThing member pgchuis

A police procedural, featuring Inspector Mallett, concerning the murder of a ruined financier. I liked Mallett and enjoyed the story, although it became a little tiresome by the end. I am not sure why the chapter with Fanshawe and his daughter was included. The tone was light with touches of

humour.

Sadly the interesting and important protagonists were all male; the female characters consisted of secretaries, the dead man's mistress and a gullible girlfriend.

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LibraryThing member leslie.98

January 2018 reread:

I found that, although it has been a long time since I read this (10 years or more), I recalled it in great detail. Even so, it was a pleasure to follow Inspector Mallett's progress as he unravels the mystery.

LibraryThing member Matke

Slightly above average police procedural. There’s a complicated pot involving a financier and schemes gone wrong. While I did see the twist, it didn’t help me identify the killer. That part was really well done. I’m looking forward to more of Hare’s work, since this wa his first novel.

LibraryThing member Craftybilda

Another great read by Cyril Hare (Alfred Alexander Clark) a retired Judge - who else to write great mysteries?

Fewer