Fool Errant (1929) by Patricia Wentworth

🦜 Hugo Ross would be an unlikely hero of any novel, let alone a spy novel. He's a nervous young man, stammering and blushing a lot, although quite intelligent, and gradually, proved to be courageous too. He's penniless, and when someone tipped him off that a vacancy for secretary is open in Meade House, to work for a famous inventor named Ambrose Minstrel, he did his best to secure the position by arriving in the vicinity the night before the interview. It was pitch dark that night, and all of a sudden he heard someone's running towards him, and a moment later collided with him!

🦜 It was a girl, an excited girl who tends to chattering when excited. She was running away from home, and was rushing to catch her train. Learning that he's going to work for Minstrel, she urgently warned him not too, before getting to the train and vanished; without even telling him her name.

🦜 Hugo did get the job. But no sooner than he started, strange occurrences happened - trivial and annoying, but inexplicable all the same: someone stealthily trying to open his bedroom door at night, then a man who's insisting of buying a worthless item at high price. Hugo also overheard himself mentioned as a 'mug' by Minstrel and his assistant. Puzzled, but feeling that something menacing is broiling, Hugo consulted his case with Benbow Smith, his brother-in-law's uncle, an ex-intelligent, eccentric man who lived with his parrot pet, Ananias.

🦜 Apparently Hugo had unwittingly drawn into an intriguing plot of espionage. He was designated to be the space goat when the plot succeeded, due to his apparent naive and gullible behavior. It's a huge risk to continue - he could be imprisoned or severely punished if they succeed to put the blame on him - or even if they realize that he know about them. He could just leave Meade House behind, or continue what he's been doing in order to do something for his country. And Hugo chose to go on. The enemies' ignorance of his knowledge would be his weapon - he continued to appear as gullible as possible, do whatever they ask him.

🦜 This novel proved to be a highly entertaining read! Suspenseful from the start, unlikely hero and heroine (Loveday Leigh, the girl who warns Hugo, proved to be clever and courageous too), unique unforgettable investigator with his parrot, high-paced adventures, with healthy dose of cute romance. I loved Hugo Ross and Loveday Leigh, and of course, Ananias the 🦜. Benbow Smith with his secretive aura would probably be an interesting character, but his role in this one is too minor to be noticed. Hopefully we get to see more of him in the rest of the next books. Because, of course, I want to read more from this series!

Rating: 5 / 5

I read this book for:

British Crime Classics Challenge 2023

For Bingo Card: Espionage/Spy