The Lost Gallows
A London Mystery
-
-
3.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
"Carr (1906-1977) is at the top of his game in this taut whodunit first published in 1931."—Publishers Weekly, Starred review
The British Library resurfaces an early gem from one of the great writers of the Golden Age of classic crime fiction.
As the thick, autumnal fog chokes the capital, within the fire-lit lounge of London's notorious Brimstone Club a bizarre tale is being spun for Inspector Bencolin and his friend Jeff Marle. A member of the club has been sent a model of a tiny gallows, and the word is that the folkloric hangman Jack Ketch has been stalking the streets for victims by night, his gibbet in tow.
The threat of this supposed bogeyman becomes thrillingly real when that same night Bencolin and Marle are almost run down by a limousine with a corpse behind the wheel. When an ominous message claims the car's passenger has been taken to the gallows at Ruination Street for hanging, the detective and his associate venture into the night to discover the truth behind the terrifying Ketch and a street which cannot be found on any map.
First published in 1931 at the outset of Carr's legendary career in crime writing, this atmospheric mystery boasts all of the twists, tension, and unforgettable scenes of a young master at work.
This British Library Crime Classics edition also includes the rare Inspector Bencolin short story "The Ends of Justice" and an Introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger-Award winning author Martin Edwards.
Also in the British Library Crime Classics:
Smallbone Deceased
The Body in the Dumb River
Blood on the Tracks
Surfeit of Suspects
Death Has Deep Roots
Checkmate to Murder
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Carr (1906–1977) is at the top of his game in this taut whodunit first published in 1931. Paris police chief Henri Bencolin, who has come to London for a play's opening, is nearly run down in the street by a limousine driven by a dead man, whose throat, he can clearly see, has been slit from ear to ear. The victim turns out to have been the chauffeur for a wealthy Egyptian, Nezam El Moulk. The baffling murder appears connected to a campaign of terror orchestrated against El Moulk by someone who calls himself Jack Ketch after a notorious English hangman. Ketch manages to infiltrate the Egyptian's locked residence to leave ominous objects, such as a wooden model of a gallows. The tension builds after Ketch calls the police and says, "Nezam El Moulk has been hanged on the gallows in Ruination Street," a nonexistent address. The revelation of Ketch's real name is both shocking and logical, and Carr maintains a creepy atmosphere throughout. The British Library Crime Classics series has unearthed another worthy golden age puzzle.
