Sir Eustace Vernon had earned the respect and gratitude of his neighbors in and around Mapleton by rescuing a dozen trapped children from a burning house when the local fire brigade couldn't even get to the fire. It also brought him his knighthood. Certainly he was no coward. But at a Christmas party the next year at his home, something frightened Sir Eustace - frightened him so badly that he left his own party, telling his guests that he had just had some very bad news. And that was the last time anyone saw Sir Eustace alive. And the reasons...well, according to our narrator:
"Thus was the stage of Vernon House set at about a quarter to twelve on that Christmas night for the enacting of one of the strangest cases that ever fell to an investigator’s lot to unravel.”
You'll find all the details in another classic mystery by Golden Age author Brian Flynn named The Murders in Mapleton. It's the subject of this week's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast. You are welcome to listen to the complete review by clicking here.
As luck would have it, it was up to two passersby to observe what appeared to be a terrible accident: a train ran over a man on some nearby railroad tracks. The passersby turned out to be Sir Austin Kemble, the Commissioner of Scotland Yard, and his friend and frequent co-investigator, Anthony Bathurst. Bathurst was the central character in Flynn’s mysteries; in this case, as a witness to the discovery of that body on the tracks, both Kemble and Bathurst were provided with an excellent reason to work closely with other investigators on a case which immediately began turning up surprises – some of them quite shocking indeed, especially for a book written in the 1920s. And as the body count begins to mount, it will be Anthony Bathurst who will have to dispel the seeming fog over a hero’s disappearance and several murders.
The mysteries of Brian Flynn seem to be enjoying a resurgence of popularity with readers of Golden Age mysteries, thanks largely to the new editions of his work being brought to the market by Dean Street Press. Mystery historian Steve Barge, who has been writing introductions both for the individual Flynn books and for the series as a whole, contributes another informative and entertaining essay to The Murders near Mapleton. The package is well worth your while.
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