Ford, Leslie as David Frome - Homicide House (1949) aka Murder on the Square

Homicide House (1949) is the sole-post World War II Mr. Pinkerton novel. Its opening paragraphs describe Mr. Pinkerton as being "nostalgic"; perhaps his creator was, too. It is also known by its British title of Murder on the Square. This perhaps a better title; it refers to the setting of the story in a London residential Square. Its physical setting is similar to [Mr. Pinkerton Has the Clue] (1936). Clue took place in a rooming house in the British city of Bath, in which Mr. Pinkerton was the last and least of the lodgers. Homicide House takes place in a similar London establishment. In both stories, Mr. Pinkerton has a tiny room on the upper floors. In both he is bullied and despised by the aggressive staff and inhabitants - the houses maintaining a huge staff of servants and managers, that seems astonishing to people like myself who are more familiar with staffless modern American apartment buildings. In both, he is a witness, and then a detective, when sinister doings engulf the residents of the buildings. The crimes in both books revolve around one large family, and its systems of romances, family secrets, and financial control of a lot of wastrel dependents by one rich, domineering elderly woman. Homicide House is routine as a puzzle plot mystery, with Mr. Pinkerton doing very little actual detection. Its opening Chapters (1 - 6) succeed as a romance, however, with mysterious events, an intriguing setting, and characters having adventures.

Mike Grost