Rhode, John - Death at Breakfast (1936)

Review by Nick Fuller

3/5

A solid early Rhode, which opens with the poisoning of Victor Harleston, an accountant's clerk, continues with the disappearance of his employer, and concludes with signs of another tragedy. Hanslet and Waghorn are both active: Hanslet is notably stupid, accepting the most obvious solution and dismissing the links between the three cases as coincidence; Waghorn is brighter, although is, of course, bested by Priestley. The solution relies on the creation of a false identity and is generally sound, except for a few improbable acts on the part of the murderer, who appears in person on two occasions when a disguise would be advisable, and who alerts the police to the existence of "Stanley Fernside," forgetting about the numbers on the banknotes.