The Groote Park Murder

The Groote Park Murder
Freeman Wills Crofts

From a murder in South Africa to the tracking down of a master criminal in northern Scotland, this is a true classic of Golden Age detective fiction by one of its most accomplished champions.When a signalman discovers a mutilated body inside a railway tunnel near Groote Park, it seems to be a straightforward case of a man struck by a passing train. But Inspector Vandam of the Middeldorp police isn’t satisfied that Albert Smith’s death was accidental, and he sets out to prove foul play in a baffling mystery which crosses continents from deepest South Africa to the wilds of northern Scotland, where an almost identical crime appears to have been perpetrated.The Groote Park Murder was the last of Freeman Wills Crofts’ standalone crime novels, foreshadowing his iconic Inspector French series and helping to cement his reputation (according to his publishers) as ‘the greatest and most popular detective writer in the world’. Like The Cask, The Ponson Case and The Pit-Prop Syndicate before it, here were a delightfully ingenious plot, impeccable handling of detail, and an overwhelming surprise ‘curtain’ from a masterful crime writer on the cusp of global success.This Detective Club classic is introduced with an essay by Freeman Wills Crofts, unseen since 1937, about ‘The Writing of a Detective Novel’.

‘THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB is a clearing house for the best detective and mystery stories chosen for you by a select committee of experts. Only the most ingenious crime stories will be published under the THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB imprint. A special distinguishing stamp appears on the wrapper and title page of every THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB book—the Man with the Gun. Always look for the Man with the Gun when buying a Crime book.’

Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., 1929

Now the Man with the Gun is back in this series of COLLINS CRIME CLUB reprints, and with him the chance to experience the classic books that influenced the Golden Age of crime fiction.

Copyright (#ulink_01db5681-96bf-532b-9269-21b6aa4efb08)

Published by COLLINS CRIME CLUB

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by The Crime Club by W. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd 1923

Copyright © Estate of Freeman Wills Crofts 1923

Introduction © Estate of Freeman Wills Crofts 1937

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1923, 2017

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008159337

Ebook Edition © April 2017 ISBN: 9780008159344

Version: 2017-03-07

Contents

Cover (#uf3b7a3f4-1b3c-52d8-870f-888b6c52af5c)

Title Page (#ubcb6c3a7-9180-5821-a7b1-66b44e222fb5)

Copyright (#u663d289c-8257-5767-b706-f8697dd4ab24)

Introduction (#u46ac25fa-b0c1-522c-81d8-7125ea9a7f04)

PART I: SOUTH AFRICA (#ua9fb3622-7554-590c-a1bb-6a199fef6d7e)

I. THE DARTIE ROAD TUNNEL (#u230e35e9-1247-58fa-aa11-a3d8265413cf)

II. THE POTTING SHED (#u4df6fff0-f464-5026-9876-49ad5340a4f4)

III. GATHERING THE THREADS (#u35098e74-8ab9-539d-8346-827706028ee0)

IV. VANDAM FORMS A THEORY (#ue3dff4f2-7178-5958-8cd1-0ec170c73ecb)

V. ROBBERY UNDER ARMS (#u15eee7f0-3bb5-5594-b8d6-a580d11f6752)

VI. A PROFITABLE EVENING (#litres_trial_promo)

VII. THE SCALA CINEMA (#litres_trial_promo)

VIII. VANDAM MAKES UP HIS MIND (#litres_trial_promo)

IX. MARION HOPE (#litres_trial_promo)

X. THE DEFENCE (#litres_trial_promo)

PART II: SCOTLAND (#litres_trial_promo)

XI. A FRESH START (#litres_trial_promo)

XII. ON THE CRIANLARICH ROAD (#litres_trial_promo)

XIII. TOUCH AND GO (#litres_trial_promo)

XIV. INSPECTOR ROSS TAKES CHARGE (#litres_trial_promo)

XV. THE BALLACHULISH FERRY (#litres_trial_promo)

XVI. INTRODUCING SIR ANTHONY SWAYNE (#litres_trial_promo)

XVII. MR SANDY BUCHAN (#litres_trial_promo)

XVIII. ENLIGHTENMENT AND MYSTIFICATION (#litres_trial_promo)

XIX. LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS (#litres_trial_promo)

XX. CONCLUSION (#litres_trial_promo)

The Detective Story Club (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)