MURDER IN THE VILLAGE. By S. C. Skinner. (Methuen. as.
6d.)—This is one of the Methuen Clue Stories and, though it is not so well written as some of the others, both the story and the characterization are worthy of notice. The story is told by David Brown, as ordinary a character as his name would suggest, who is gradually drawn into the drama in which he is at first mildly interested by his affection for the distressed daughter of one of the principal characters, and by the curiosity of his friend Winter, who makes an admirable amateur detective. In unravelling the murder: of the South African visitor, and the subsequent shooting-up of David and the second murder, Winter is acute but not infallible. The police, as is proper, remain baffled throughout, having been led away at the beginning on a false trail which they pursue steadily throughout the book. Winter, however, proceeds by the reconstruction method, his most decisive clue being a live match found on a book in the book-case, which gives him his clue to the weapon and the murderer. The story is quiet and unassuming, possibly a defect in this sort of writing, but it is perhaps more like an incident in real life titan most detective stories.
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