Dorothy BowersBesprekingen

Cornelia Lackland is a cantankerous old lady. When she is poisoned, there is no shortage of suspects as practically everyone connected to her had reason for wanting her dead. Dan Pardoe of Scotland Yard is called in to handle the case and he must sift through the stories of each of the suspects to determine who the guilty party is.

A fairly interesting golden age mystery

Originally published in 1938, Postscript to Poison by Dorothy Bowers is this English author’s first book. In it she introduces Inspector Dan Pardoe whom she wrote about three more times. This story is about the investigation into the death of Cornelia Lackland who, while recovering from a lingering illness is poisoned. The suspects are limited to immediate family, servants, and the few people who visited the house around the time of her death.

Inspector Pardoe interviews all the suspects and as other elements come to light, the case becomes far more complicated than he had originally thought. With Cornelia’s cruel treatment of others, her constant changing of her will, anonymous letters floating about and long lost relatives turning up, the author keeps her readers guessing as to who the murderer could be. When another murder takes place, it seems to muddy the waters somewhat, but Inspector Pardoe persists and eventually reveals all.

I enjoyed this first novel and hopefully will read more by this author. Unfortunately there isn’t a large catalogue to choose from as the author died from tuberculosis when she was 46.½

The final Dorothy Bowers (as recommended by the Shedunnit podcast). Inspector Pardoe is absent in this tale of blackmail, suicide and murder. I enjoyed the setting of a combined cafe/beauty salon/hat shop in a small village and enjoyed the varying characters of the employees (though I found it difficult to keep straight who was who if I took a break from reading - major problem of ereaders where you can't flip back a few pages to remind yourself !). This book was published in 1947 and evokes a post war world where rationing remains and things still feel a little shaken up. Enjoyable.

My fourth Dorothy Bowers, as recommended by the Shedunnit podcast. I wasn't as much of a fan of this one as other readers. I found it just a bit confusing (may be less so on a re-read), though the clues are all there and I did enjoy the character of Miss Betony, an older woman who had worked as a governess in her youth, and who, faced with being begrudgingly accepted into a snobbish retirement community, instead takes up an offer to help an old pupil who's struggling school is dealing with a potential poisoner. The final Inspector Pardoe mystery, Pardoe is really a cypher in these books, which are carried by their other characters.

The third in my Dorothy Bowers binge as recommended by the Shedunnit podcast. This for me was the best Bowers. Set in London during the blitz, the war is almost another character in this story. Young Archie Mitford suspects that someone is trying to kill him, so when he dies suddenly in a blacked out house Inspector Pardoe soon realises it's not suicide but murder. There are potential spies, ornithological clues, and a missing millionaire to be sorted out before the perpetrator is bought to justice. A fun romp!½

My second Dorothy Bowers, as recommended by the Shedunnit podcast. A good golden age mystery set up with a young woman, patently unqualified, is hired as a nurse/companion to a woman who's husband has a scandalous past. Before long the woman dies and Inspector Pardoe is called in to unravel the case. There are some great characters in this (including minor characters such as the local woman doctor) and a great sense of atmosphere. My only quibble was if you read it too soon after Postscript to Poison there is a sense of deja vu in the denoument. However a very enjoyable read.½

My first of a Dorothy Bowers binge after hearing of her existence on the wonderful Shedunnit podcast. A fairly standard golden age mystery set in a small English town where two young women are kept dancing attendance on their bullying grandmother. Then the grandmother dies Inspector Pardoe is on the case to solve the mystery. I enjoyed this and looked forwards to reading more Bowers.½

The Bells At Old Bailey by Dorothy Bowers was originally published in 1947, but the author’s style of writing made me think more of 19th century Victorian authors. When five words would do, this author put in 25, resulting in an overly descriptive, slow read. However the plot was interesting as were the characters and I couldn’t wait for the final pages to find out how everything fit together.

The small village of Long Greeting had had it’s share of tragedy that spring, but when the sixth death was obviously a murder, everyone started looking back at the five suicides that preceded it. Scotland Yard had already sent Inspector Raikes to the sleepy village to inquire into the five suicides, so he was in place when Miss Bertha Tidy was brutally murdered. This murder was quickly followed by another, as someone was desperately trying to cover their tracks.

I found The Bells At Old Bailey to be a fairly enjoyable vintage mystery. The author delves into the intricate factors of village life and gives the reader a backstory on just about every character. While I would have preferred a faster moving plot, overall this was an interesting reading experience and I would certainly try another of this author’s books in the future.½

Miss Betony is a spinster in her sixties, with no family and no real friends. She had worked as a governess and hadn't managed to put much money aside for her old age. When an ex-student asks for help and offers her a job, Miss Betony accepts. The action takes place in a school cum nursing home in a small seaside town, and involves poisoning, the occult, and a story from the past. It doesn't hang together very well. Miss Betony, however, is an engaging character, and gratifyingly competent.½

This was very good mystery even though I guessed the culprit very early. I'm taking off a half star for two reasons: the first half droned on a bit that made the book longer than it should have been, and secondly, I had trouble seeing a picture of the characters in my mind's eye. It was otherwise well-written and I particularly liked this description of a sudden storm.

"From the first sly breeze preceding the first impact of thunder and crazy leap of lightning, through the surge and riot of contending wind and flogging rain that washed gardens into paths and paths into a mess of pebbles and sandy slush, to the last reluctant grumble of the clouds and rush of astonished gutters, less than an hour elapsed."½

This is a rarity. It was so dull that I abandoned it after one chapter. A whole $1.75 wasted.

I never like scenes where we see the characters visiting each other, clearly to some end, but then the author withholds the subject of the communication. And I understood the mysterious "poison pen" letters much faster than Inspector Raikes did. But, all in all, a pretty good story.

'Fear and Miss Betony' is the last book (of four)which features Inspector Dan Pardoe. Strangely,however,he does not appear until late in the book. The main charicter is the elderly spinster named in the title,Miss Grace Betony.
She is urgently requested by the owner of a girl's boarding school to help her sort out a series of increasingly troublesome events taking place at the school.The problems are compounded by the fact that the building also contains the remaining two very elderly patients left over from when it was a nursing home.
Poison and black magic also enter the story with unfortunate results.
Not quite so compelling as some of the other novels in this series,as it takes rather a long time to get going. When it does however,it makes an excellent story.Rather easy to spot the culprit though.
.

It is to be regretted that Dorothy Bowers managed to write only five books before dying of tuberculosis at only 46. This short series of Pardoe and Salt detective novels,of which 'Dead Without a Name' is the third,are well worth reading.
The body of a young and somewhat callow man,one Archy Mitfold, is found hanged.It is at first supposed that he has taken his own life,until the police discover that several earlier attempts have been made.It transpires that Mitfold has been on the trail of a pro-Nazi organisation ( It is in the early days of the Second World War) He has also been looking into the disappearance of a Millionaire which could be connected.
Inspector Pardoe and his assistant Tommy Salt struggle to follow the clues left behind by the dead man.½