9780007468645: Ask a Policeman
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 

This new edition, which is reproduced from a first printing of the book, is introduced by the author Martin Edwards, archivist of the Detection Club, and includes a never-before-published Preface by Agatha Christie, ‘Detective Writers in England’, in which she discusses her fellow writers in the Detection Club.

Lord Comstock is a barbarous newspaper tycoon with enemies in high places. His murder in the study of his country houseposes a dilemma for the Home Secretary. In the hours before his death, Lord Comstock’s visitors included the government Chief Whip, an Archbishop, and the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland Yard. Suspicion falls upon them all and threatens the impartiality of any police investigation. Abandoning protocol, the Home Secretary invites four famous detectives to solve the case: Mrs Adela Bradley, Sir John Saumarez, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Mr Roger Sheringham. All are different, all are plausible, all are on their own – and none of them can ask a policeman...

This classic whodunit adopted a completely new approach: Milward Kennedy proposed the title, John Rhode plotted the murder and provided the suspects, and four of their contemporaries were asked to lend their well-known detectives to the task of providing solutions to the crime. But there was to be another twist: the authors would swap detectives and use the characters in their sections of the book. Thus Gladys Mitchell and Helen Simpson swapped Mrs Bradley and Sir John Saumarez, and Dorothy Sayers and Anthony Berkeley swapped Lord Peter Wimsey and Roger Sheringham, enabling the authors to indulge in skilful and sly parodies of each other.

The contributors to ASK A POLICEMAN are: John Rhode, Helen Simpson, Gladys Mitchell, Anthony Berkeley, Dorothy L. Sayers, Milward Kennedy with Agatha Christie and Martin Edwards.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Product Description:
Title: Ask A Policeman In Only <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: The Detection Club <>Publisher: Harper Collins Export Editions
Review:

‘One of the most original – and entertaining – mysteries I have ever read... A brilliant tour de force that the most jaded fans will relish.’ R. A. J. Walters

‘A reminder of the genial heyday of the genre when the KGB other ingredients of the esurient modern thriller were barely a gleam in Stalin’s eye.’ Christopher Wordsworth, The Observer

‘A must for all connoisseurs of detective fiction.’ James Harris, Literary Review

‘This year’s most welcome reissue.’ Francis Goff, Sunday Telegraph

‘A book of irresistible charm for students of the detective story.’ Ruth Dudley Edwards, Times Literary Supplement

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherHarperCollins
  • Publication date2013
  • ISBN 10 0007468644
  • ISBN 13 9780007468645
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages336
  • Rating

(No Available Copies)

Search Books:



Create a Want

If you know the book but cannot find it on AbeBooks, we can automatically search for it on your behalf as new inventory is added. If it is added to AbeBooks by one of our member booksellers, we will notify you!

Create a Want

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780007468638: Ask a Policeman

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780007468638
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2013
Softcover

  • 9780008283179: Ask a Policeman

    Collin..., 2019
    Softcover

  • 9780007468621: Ask a Policeman

    Harper..., 2012
    Hardcover

  • 9780425109717: Ask a Policeman

    Berkle..., 1987
    Softcover

  • 9780425101049: Ask a Policeman

    Berkley, 1987
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace