An English Murder: The Golden Age Classic Christmas Mystery - Tapa blanda

A satisfying tale of politics and wealth, with an unexpected denouement (Marcel Berlins The Times, 'Thrillers and Chillers of the Year')

All the ingredients for a traditional Christmas mystery are here. [Cyril Hare's] rediscovery is to be loudly applauded (Barry Turner Daily Mail)

Yes, there is a murder (the clue is in the title) but in Golden Age crime (this book was first published in 1951,) murders are never particularly, well, murdery. What we have here is foul play and a corpse on a snowy Christmas Eve at Warbeck Hall and a full house of suspects including the scorned young lover, the social climbing politician's wife and, of course, the butler! (Red)

Faber's welcome republication of vintage crime bestsellers continued with An English Murder by Cyril Hare, a wintry country house whodunit from 1951 (Guardian, 'Best crime books of 2017')

Revival of a 1951 classic by the distinguished barrister Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark, aka Cyril Hare, the critically acclaimed crime writer. To quote the unimprovable cover blurb: "The snow is thick, the phone line is down, and no one is getting in or out of Warbeck Hall". What could possibly go wrong as the Christmas bells chime midnight? (The Times Crime Club)

'Six people around the table on Christmas Eve in a large country house include the chancellor of the exchequer, the leader of a fascist movement, a Jewish historian and assorted toffs. They start dying, one by one. Snow prevents detectives from coming to investigate. Written in 1951, Cyril Hare's novel tells a satisfying tale of politics and wealth, with an unexpected denouement.' (The Times Books of the Year: Crime)

'Faber's welcome republication of vintage crime bestsellers continued with An English Murder by Cyril Hare, a wintry country house whodunit from 1951.' (Mark Lawson Guardian Best Crime and Thrillers 2017)

Slips down as easily as eggnog on Christmas morning (S Magazine)

Hare's writing is sublime... this author was years ahead of his time (CrimeSquad)

'This light-hearted classic from 1951 slips down as easily as eggnog on Christmas morning. The premise seems conventional to the point of parody. A group of people who feel little goodwill towards each other are snowed in during Christmas at a stately home. The outcome is murder. But there are plenty of original ideas, some nice satirical touches (one of the guests, to the dismay of his aristocratic hosts, is the left-wing Chancellor of the Exchequer) and bucketfuls of charm' (Jake Kerridge Sunday Express Murder and Mystery Books of the Year)

Cyril Hare was the pseudonym for the distinguished lawyer Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark. He was born in Surrey, in 1900, and was educated at Rugby and Oxford. A member of the Inner Temple, he was called to the Bar in 1924 and joined the chambers of Roland Oliver, who handled many of the great crime cases of the 1920s. He practised as a barrister until the Second World War, after which he served in various legal and judicial capacities including a time as a county court judge in Surrey. Hare's crime novels, many of which draw on his legal experience, have been praised by Elizabeth Bowen and P.D. James among others. He died in 1958 - at the peak of his career as a judge, and at the height of his powers as a master of the whodunit.