Part of Series
A man's car is impounded as a stolen vehicle—but that's not the worst of it—in this classic British mystery starring a "tartly logical professor" (The New York Times). Kenneth Winslow's company has sold a car to his nephew, Noel Yewdale, who's supposed to transport the large, locked chest in it. But before he can get the job done, the police seize the car—saying they think it's stolen. When the cops confirm he won't get the car back, he's out of luck—but at least they're willing to help him carry the heavy chest out of the garage where the vehicle has been stored. Unfortunately, Yewdale has an even bigger problem when they pry the chest open to find out why it smells so bad—his uncle's body is stuffed inside. Superintendent Waghorn will do his best to solve the crime, but he may need some help from Dr. Lancelot Priestley to put the puzzle pieces together . . .
Author
AKA Miles Burton, Cecil Waye, Cecil J.C. Street, I.O., F.O.O.. Cecil John Charles Street, MC, OBE, (1884 - January 1965), known as CJC Street and John Street, began his military career as an artillery officer in the British army. During the course of World War I, he became a propagandist for MI7, in which role he held the rank of Major. After the armistice, he alternated between Dublin and London during the Irish War of Independence as Information Officer for Dublin Castle, working closely with Lionel Curtis. He later earned his living as a prolific writer of detective novels. He produced two long series of novels; one under the name of John Rhode featuring the forensic scientist Dr Priestley, and another under the name of Miles Burton featuring the investigator Desmond Merrion. Under the name Cecil Waye, Street produced four novels: The Figure of Eight; The End of the Chase; The Prime Minister's Pencil; and Murder at Monk's Barn. The Dr. Priestley novels were among the first after Sherlock Holmes to feature scientific detection of crime, such as analysing the mud on a suspect's shoes. Desmond Merrion is an amateur detective who works with Scotland Yard's Inspector Arnold. Critic and author Julian Symons places this author as a prominent member of the "Humdrum" school of detective fiction. "Most of them came late to writing fiction, and few had much talent for it. They had some skill in constructing puzzles, nothing more, and ironically they fulfilled much better than S. S. Van Dine his dictum that the detective story properly belonged in the category of riddles or crossword puzzles. Most of the Humdrums were British, and among the best known of them were Major John Street. -Wikipedia
