The story is set in the scenic North Downs of Surrey, on the ridge known as the Hog's Back, at the time of the building of the A31 bypass. Three school-friends, Julia Earle, her sister Marjorie Lawes, and Ursula Stone gather at Julia and Dr. James Earle's secluded cottage, St. Kilda, to share light-hearted reminiscences of their school-days. Ursula discovers that not only is Julia having an affair with her neighbour Reggie Slade, but that Dr. Earle has been seen in London with a mysterious woman, dressed in grey. As tensions mount, Dr. Earle disappears from his study in extraordinary circumstances: one minute he is sitting in his living room, comfortably settled with newspaper and slippers, and the next he has vanished. Despite the best efforts of the inhabitants of St. Kilda and The Red Cottage, home of Dr. Earle's former partner Dr. Campion, to find some sign of Dr. Earle, no trace is found.
The police are called in. At first, they suppose Dr. Earle has gone to his inamorata, the woman in grey. However, their investigation uncovers further discrepancies such as his not taking any money or personal belongings. The local police finally turn to Inspector French of Scotland Yard to help solve the mystery. The case soon takes a more complex turn; other people vanish mysteriously, including one of Dr. Earle's house guests. As the situation becomes more perplexing, French finds himself investigating no fewer than four murders.
Referencesedit
^"The Hog's Back Mystery [The Strange Case of Dr. Earle] (Inspector French #10)". The Faded Page. Faded Page. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
^Browne, Glenda. "The Hog's Back Mystery". gadetection. pbworks. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
Bibliographyedit
Evans, Curtis. Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961. McFarland, 2014.
Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015.
This article about a mystery novel of the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
back, mystery, 1933, also, known, strange, case, earle, golden, mystery, novel, irish, author, freeman, wills, crofts, tenth, novel, inspector, french, series, novel, early, example, police, procedural, subgenre, detective, fiction, first, croft, books, publis. The Hog s Back Mystery 1933 also known as The Strange Case of Dr Earle is a Golden Age mystery novel by the Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts It is the tenth novel in his Inspector French series 1 The novel is an early example of the police procedural subgenre of detective fiction It was the first of Croft s books published by Hodder amp Stoughton 2 It was reissued in 2015 by British Library Publishing The Hog s Back MysteryFirst edition UK AuthorFreeman Wills CroftsCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishSeriesInspector FrenchGenreDetectivePublisherHodder and Stoughton UK Dodd Mead US Publication date1933Media typePrintPreceded byDeath on the Way Followed byThe 12 30 from Croydon Plot Summary editThe story is set in the scenic North Downs of Surrey on the ridge known as the Hog s Back at the time of the building of the A31 bypass Three school friends Julia Earle her sister Marjorie Lawes and Ursula Stone gather at Julia and Dr James Earle s secluded cottage St Kilda to share light hearted reminiscences of their school days Ursula discovers that not only is Julia having an affair with her neighbour Reggie Slade but that Dr Earle has been seen in London with a mysterious woman dressed in grey As tensions mount Dr Earle disappears from his study in extraordinary circumstances one minute he is sitting in his living room comfortably settled with newspaper and slippers and the next he has vanished Despite the best efforts of the inhabitants of St Kilda and The Red Cottage home of Dr Earle s former partner Dr Campion to find some sign of Dr Earle no trace is found The police are called in At first they suppose Dr Earle has gone to his inamorata the woman in grey However their investigation uncovers further discrepancies such as his not taking any money or personal belongings The local police finally turn to Inspector French of Scotland Yard to help solve the mystery The case soon takes a more complex turn other people vanish mysteriously including one of Dr Earle s house guests As the situation becomes more perplexing French finds himself investigating no fewer than four murders References edit The Hog s Back Mystery The Strange Case of Dr Earle Inspector French 10 The Faded Page Faded Page Retrieved 1 February 2020 Browne Glenda The Hog s Back Mystery gadetection pbworks Retrieved 1 February 2020 Bibliography editEvans Curtis Masters of the Humdrum Mystery Cecil John Charles Street Freeman Wills Crofts Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel 1920 1961 McFarland 2014 Reilly John M Twentieth Century Crime amp Mystery Writers Springer 2015 nbsp This article about a mystery novel of the 1930s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Hog 27s Back Mystery amp oldid 1082822048, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
