The Brooklyn Murders

The economist and historian G. D. H. Cole tried his hand at crime fiction with this Golden Age mystery, the first of many he would write. When violent death strikes the household of the wealthy Brooklyn family, headed by a celebrated retired actor, suspicion settles on those closest to the victim. The case brings in Superintendent Henry Wilson of Scotland Yard, the patient, methodical detective who would return throughout Cole’s later books. Working through alibis, motives, and buried family tensions, Wilson pieces together a solution that the obvious evidence hides. First published in 1923, it is a solid example of the classic English detective novel and the debut of a memorable sleuth. Free to read in this PDF and EPUB edition.