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Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Fire in the Thatch (1946) by E.C.R. Lorac




πŸ”₯ Chief Inspector Robert MacDonald has become my favorite police-detective since my first E.C.R Lorac: Murder in the Mill-Race. I like his methodical investigation and communication skill. In this case, MacDonald (or the Scotland Yard) was summoned to give his opinion on a burnt thatched cottage in a rural countryside at Mallory Fitzjohn, Devon; whether it was an accident or a foul play.

πŸ”₯ Nicholas Vaughan bought Little Thatch, a cottage belongs to Colonel St. Cyres, and planned to farm the land and renovate the cottage. Colonel St. Cyres and his daughter were pleased with their new tenant, a conscientious hardworking man, compared to his competitor, a gentleman from London called Mr. Gressingham. The later was recommended by June St. Cyres, the colonel's daughter-in-law, whom the colonel had dismissed (the proposal from the gentleman, not the daughter-in-law).

πŸ”₯ One day Little Thatched was on fire, and Vaughan was found killed inside. The local police marked the case as accident, but a navy captain who had been Vaughan's chief suspected a foul play. This is a mystery where the key to solve it lays in the personality of the victim - a field where Robert MacDonald is an expert of.

πŸ”₯ The mystery itself isn't very complicated. It lacks of suspects and surprises. June St. Cyres hasn't got an opportunity to be closely investigated by MacDonald, and I feel that she's there at all only to bring Gressingham and his London lot into the picture. However, the countryside atmosphere and the detailed description of Vaughan's farming infused a charm into this story. Vaughan has a pleasant personality; his relationship with the St. Cyreses is heartwarming. We are fortunate to enjoy these two elements long enough before the tragedy came into the picture.

πŸ”₯ All in all, it is another enjoyable murder mystery from Lorac.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

3 comments:

  1. This is one of the best E.C.R. Loracs I've read and there are some 'good' ones! (I recommend Murder at the Mill-Race if you haven't read it.) I thought the death in this one was very sad.

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  2. I haven't read this one yet but I really enjoy Lorac; her descriptions of the countryside are wonderful

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  3. This author does seem to be a favorite! I have only read one and maybe it wasn't one of the best but I will keep my eyes open for more.

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