''A Village Afraid'' is a 1950

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

by the British writer

Cecil Street Cecil John Charles Street (3 May 1884 – 8 December 1964), also known as John Street, was a major in the British Army and a crime fiction novelist. He began his military career as an artillery officer and during World War I, he became a propa ...

, writing under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of Miles Burton. It was part of a lengthy series of books featuring the detective Desmond Merrion and

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

Arnold of

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

.Reilly p.1259

Synopsis

Five prominent members of the little village of Micheigreen gather for drinks

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

The Swan after a meeting of the Parish Council. The next day one of their number, wealthy businessman Norman Rother is found dead. While initial suspicion points at his dissatisfied younger wife Annette, the local police are flummoxed can call in the expertise of Merrion and Arnold.

References

Bibliography

* Evans, Curtis. ''Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961''. McFarland, 2014. * Herbert, Rosemary. ''Whodunit?: A Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing''. Oxford University Press, 2003. * Hubin, Allen J. ''Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography''. Garland Publishing, 1984. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1950 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in England {{1950s-mystery-novel-stub