Richardson's First Case (1933) by Basil Thomson #DeanStreetDecember25

👮🏻 Sir Basil Home Thomson had been the head of CID (Criminal Investigation Department) in Scotland Yard for eight years before writing a this crime detective series with P.C. Richardson as his hero. Thus, he knew inside out how the Yard was run at the time. This series, then, was written as meticulously as it probably has ever been, as a police investigation of a murder case. P.C. Richardson is a uniformed constable, and on his first day of duty. Richardson has been dreaming of one day entering the CID while standing on the corner of Baker Street, when bam! a car accident occurs, and an old man was dead. He was identified by his talkative nephew as Mr. Catchpool, an antique store owner and registered money-lander. But Richardson is failed when trying to locate the deceased's wife, to break the news. She was later on found also dead, but not by accident. She was strangled to death in a willful murder!

👮🏻 Now here's the interesting thing about this book. Instead of putting a chief inspector of inspector in lime light while the investigation is progressing, we are treated with the running of CID machinery and bureaucracy. When a clue was procured or witnesses found, the inspector dealing with the case would report it to his superior. Then he, in turn, forward it to yet his superior, until it reached the Commissioner, who would then submit the neatly wrapped up case to the Prosecutor. Thomson even gave us the acronyms of each rank, which I did not really care about. Anyway, this writing style is unique of Golden Age Detective stories, and this makes Basil Thomson stands out among his contemporaries.

👮🏻 The murder mystery involved nephews of both Mr. and Mrs. Catchpool, due to a clause in Mr. Catchpool's will: if his wife survived him even for a few minutes, his wealth would be inherited by her nephew. Whereas if the wife's death precedes the husband, then his nephew will inherit it. So, the police's first task is to establish time of death of Mrs. Catchpool, which is not an easy task. Complications arise from every angle, especially from unreliable witnesses with their own interests. But to all this, P.C. Richardson, who is summoned to help with the investigation by his superior, makes an excellent job.

👮🏻 What I liked most of this book, is the sense that we are included in a real police investigation, instead of reading a detective story. It was a rare experience too, to follow a budding career of the inspector-would-be - for Richardson will become an inspector, as the series title has implied - from the very bottom - uniformed officer. It would be interesting to see how he would progress, and so, this series would be one I would read in order. I should thank Dean Street Press for bringing this germ to resurface!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

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Dean Street December 2025

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