The Brandon Case

Readers who like to take their detective stories straight have found that Connington's name on a title-page guarantees a zestful contest of wits. This story is one of his best, a puzzle in which every piece is presented for the reader's inspection until they are fitted together in the surprising solution. It was at the hidden stone wall in the spinney that Johnnie Brandon, rabbit shooting with a party of guests, was instantly killed by a shotgun charge. Only that day he had attained his majority; only the night before he had been discovered in a compromising situation with the wife of the man who had been his mentor. Everyone agreed with the finding of the coroner's jury, "Accidental death"-especially his nearest kin, on tenterhooks lest someone mention suicide. Everyone, that is, except Inspector Hinton, who went ahead preparing one of his letter-perfect reports. But he had not gone far before the outline of murder inescapably formed itself in his notes. The murderer? That was another matter, as he reluctantly admitted when the acumen of the Chief Constable, Sir Clinton Driffield, was brought to bear on the case. The Brandon Case (also published as The Ha-Ha Case) was published in 1934.