Inspector French’s Greatest Case
Written by Freeman Wills Crofts
Narrated by Phil Fox
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
From the Collins Crime Club archive, the first Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’.
THE FIRST INSPECTOR FRENCH MYSTERY
At the offices of the Hatton Garden diamond merchant Duke and Peabody, the body of old Mr Gething is discovered beside a now-empty safe. With multiple suspects, the robbery and murder is clearly the work of a master criminal, and requires a master detective to solve it. Meticulous as ever, Inspector Joseph French of Scotland Yard embarks on an investigation that takes him from the streets of London to Holland, France and Spain, and finally to a ship bound for South America . . .
Freeman Wills Crofts
Freeman Wills Crofts (1879–1957) was an Irish author of detective fiction. Born in Dublin, he spent decades as a railroad engineer in Northern Ireland. When a long illness kept him away from work, he wrote The Cask (1920), a mystery novel that launched him to immediate popularity. He continued writing after he returned to work, finally leaving the railroad in 1929 to write full time. His best-known novels include The Starvel Hollow Tragedy (1927) and The 12:30 from Croydon (1934).
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Titles in the series (6)
Inspector French’s Greatest Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspector French and the Cheyne Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspector French and the Sea Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspector French and the Box Office Murders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspector French: Sir John Magill’s Last Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Inspector French’s Greatest Case
48 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Though I suspected the guilty party almost at once, the case involved intricacies I'd never have figured out.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This plot and others written by this author are so unnecessarily complicated that it makes Agatha Christie seem simplistic. Every thought and action needs to be pondered and explained and it just bogs the whole book down
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lots of travel for the good detective as he attempts to solve a diamond robbery and murder. Not much in the way of suspense, just a concentration on detecting.I enjoyed it, especially somebody running around London and getting anywhere he wished to be in a matter of minutes!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is Inspector French’s debut mystery story, written in 1925 or so. French investigates a robbery and murder of a diamond merchant in London’s Hatton Garden. His investigation takes him all around London and also to Europe: Switzerland, Spain, France and Portugal. The exciting capture of the villain takes place in Oporto, Portugal. So in addition to the whodunit, there’s also the adventure of train and ship travel to entertain the reader.French is the narrator and star of the story. He has no “sidekick” like Holmes had Dr. Watson. His sounding boards are his wife and his superior officer back at Scotland Yard. Readers see the various suspects through French’s eyes and experiences.The plot is engaging – not overly complicated – and moves along at a good clip. Several times French thinks he has his culprit, only to have them slip away. He is frustrated but keeps going. The resolution comes in the last chapter , with the howdunit details revealed in the following Epilogue. A satisfying conclusion to an interesting murder mystery.Note: The eBook I read was not a British Library Crime Classic edition, so there was no Martin Edwards’ Introduction which usually appears in them. I enjoy those essays and missed having one here.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is called "inspector French's Greatest Case" but it was also the first Inspector French case, so it did not have much competition at the time. My recollection is that there are laterFrench cases I liked better. This one involves a clerk reporting finding an open safe at a diamond merchant's office --and the body of the merchant's chief clerk.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is truly a police procedural because the case is solved by shoe leather and following up each clue over period of weeks.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The first book about Crofts' best-known sleuth still makes for good reading, if you can overlook his flaws (in terms of writing style he makes Agatha Christie look like Henry James). The plot here involves a robbery at a Hatton Garden jewellers' firm, in which the chief clerk is murdered, and French's dogged pursuit of the criminals. Some red herrings are not developed very well, and an astute reader will probably spot the plot twist rather easily, but it's still worth your time if you like Golden Age mysteries.