''Checkmate to Murder'' is a 1944
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
E.C.R. Lorac, 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 the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It was the twenty fifth in her long-running series featuring
Chief Inspector MacDonald 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.260] Originally published by
Collins Crime Club
Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crime ...
, it was reissued in 2020 by the
British Library Publishing
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
as part of a group of crime novels from the
Golden Age of Detective Fiction
The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. While the Golden Age proper is usually taken to refer to works from that period, this type of f ...
.
Synopsis
On a foggy night during the
London Blitz
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
, a
special constable arrests a young
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer.
Etymology
The wo ...
standing over the dead body of his elderly great uncle in a rundown house in
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
. The only other possible suspects are the inhabitants of the
art studio
A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater.
The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal.
Types Art
The studio of any artist, esp ...
next door, a celebrated painter, his sister and their various guests. However as MacDonald and his assistant Inspector Reeves begin to investigate a number of other possible suspects and motives emerge, including the special constable himself.
References
Bibliography
* Nichols, Victoria & Thompson, Susan. ''Silk Stalkings: More Women Write of Murder''. Scarecrow Press, 1998.
* Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015.
1944 British novels
British mystery novels
Novels by E. C. R. Lorac
Novels set in London
British detective novels
Collins Crime Club books
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