About the book

About In the Night: An English Country House Murder Mystery

Selected by Martin Edward as one of his 100 Classic Crime novels in The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books ‘A country-house murder mystery of the kind that became highly popular during the Golden Age… this novel surely ought to be better known’ Martin Edwards ‘Had me guessing completely’ Arthur Conan Doyle Lord Gorell’s debut crime novel, this 2025 Spitfire Publishers ebook and paperback edition represents the first republication of this classic of the ‘Golden Age of Crime’ in over a century When Sir Roger Penterton is found dead at the foot of the grand staircase in his country house, Salting Towers, the peaceful English countryside is shaken by murder. With a head wound that suggests foul play and no sign of a break-in, suspicion falls on the staff and guests at the mansion: his distant wife, Lady Eleanor, the imperturbable butler, Fairlie, and Sir Roger’s put-upon private secretary, Philip Castle. Inspector Humblethorne of Scotland Yard is called in, but it’s the young Miss Evelyn Temple, an unassuming guest with a sharp mind and a perceptive eye, who begins to see what the professionals have missed. About the Author Lord Gorell was born Ronald Gorell Barnes in 1884, the second son of the first baron Gorell. Both Ronald and his elder brother, Henry, served in the First World War, Ronald earned the Military Cross whilst his brother was killed at Ypres in 1917, elevating Ronald to the third baron Gorell. As well as performing his duties as a British peer, he was a journalist for The Times, a longtime editor of the Cornhill Magazine and played thirteen seasons with the Marylebone Cricket Club. He wrote crime fiction intermittently, his first, In the Night, was published in 1917, his last, Murder at Manor House, in 1954. He was also co-president of the Detection Club with Agatha Christie from 1956 to 1963. Miss Evelyn Temple was perhaps his most interesting series character; a twenty-something woman of the upper classes with ‘a quick brain and a perceptive eye’ who starred in In the Night and Red Lilac. Lord Gorell died in 1963. Praise for Lord Gorell Red Lilac ‘Lord Gorell has a nice ear for dialogue’ Dorothy L. Sayers Murder at Mavering ‘A snug, trim Cornish coast mystery investigated by Inspector Hepburn and his spinster chum Miss Olley’ The Observer Devil’s Drum ‘Lord Gorell stands in the first rank of the mystery writers of today’ Dundee Courier

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