Body Unidentified by John Rhode

Body Unidentified by John Rhode

Mr. Wedgwood was puzzled. It was odd, he thought, as he looked from his bedroom window, that someone should leave a large closed car in the middle of his front yard, but what confused him even more was the shimmering brilliance it seemed to assume as the sun rose higher. Suddenly the unpleasant truth burst upon him with a shock. It was not a car at all. It was a hearse

Jimmy Waghorn first followed the grisly trail from the abandoned hearse to the thing in the tar boiler, and as luck would have it, on that same day Inspector Hanslet finally stumbled on a really substantial clue to the Patton jewel robbery. But only after Dr. Priestley made his seemingly enigmatic suggestion did it occur to either one that the two crimes could possibly be related.

An exciting book John Rhode with his usual ingenuity and scrupulous care has worked two apparently diverse crimes into a fascinating pattern of mystery and intrigue.

Once again, Jimmy Waghorn is helped in his investigations by the enigmatic advice of Dr. Priestley, while Sergeant King's encyclopedic knowledge of the underworld plays its part in the solving of a particularly ingenious crime.

Cecil John Charles Street (1884-1964), also known as Miles Burton and Cecil Waye, published under the pen name John Rhode. He began writing non-fiction before moving to mystery fiction, producing four novels a year for thirty-seven years after serving in the British Army as an artillery officer during World War One, reaching to the rank of Major. He'must hold the record for inventing clever types of murder,' according to the Sunday Times, and he'stands in the front rank of those who create detective fiction,' according to the Times Literary Supplement. Doctor Lancelot Priestley was introduced in Rhode's first series novel, The Paddington Mystery (1925), and he went on to feature in 72 novels, several for Collins Crime Club.