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Dr. Priestley's Quest book cover
Dr. Priestley's Quest
A Dr. Priestley Detective Story
1926
First Published
3.94
Average Rating
291
Number of Pages

Part of Series

Dr. Priestley's Quest, first published in 1926, is the second book in the Dr. Priestley detective story series. Author John Rhode, a pen name of Cecil Street (1884-1964), was a prolific writer of mostly detective novels, publishing more than 140 books between 1924 and 1961. From the dustjacket: “Perhaps the greatest achievement of Dr. Priestley's career as a criminologist was his masterly solution of the strange mystery which is related in this volume. The curious problem presented by the case of the Heatherdale brothers was well-suited for the exercise of his peculiar powers of logical reasoning. From the first dramatic disclosure of Mr. Gerald Heatherdale, the narrative proceeds by a series of startling events to a conclusion which few reader will be able to foretell.”
Avg Rating
3.94
Number of Ratings
103
5 STARS
35%
4 STARS
31%
3 STARS
28%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
1%
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Author

John Rhode
John Rhode
Author · 54 books

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

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