''Beware Your Neighbour'' is a 1951

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 Unlike much of the series it takes place in

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

rather than

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Reviewing the novel in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' Esther Howard wrote " I always find that Mr. Burton has nearly the most colourless detectives, prose-style and plots of anyone in the business, and ''Beware Your Neighbour'', death in an exclusive thoroughfare, though mechanically adequate, is entirely devoid of excitement."

Synopsis

In the small prosperous street of Hallows Green a series of threatening letters are sent that appear to be leading up to a murder. Desmond Merrion is a friend of one of the residents and lends his assistance. When a murder is committed Arnold of the Yard arrives and they join forces to crack the case.

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. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1951 British novels Novels by Cecil Street British mystery novels British detective novels Collins Crime Club books Novels set in England {{1950s-mystery-novel-stub