The Cask"One of the classics of modern crime fiction." — The New York Times While London dockworkers are struggling to unload a shipment of French wine, one of the heavy casks falls, shatters and reveals its cargo—sawdust, gold coins, and a female corpse. But by the time the police arrive, the barrel has vanished along with its macabre contents. Enter Inspector Burnley of Scotland Yard, who traces the cask to Paris, where he enlists the help of detective M. Lefarge of the Sûreté. Together, they hunt for the identity of the anonymous victim and her devious killer, traversing a maze of clues, alibis, red herrings, and lies.This top-notch procedural, along with Agatha Christie's first novel, marked the start of the golden age of the detective story. Freeman Wills Crofts, one of the "Big Four" mystery writers of the era, provides fascinating insights into early twentieth-century methods of murder investigation as well as atmospheric glimpses of the shipping business in London and Paris in the years after World War I. |
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User Review - antiquary - LibraryThingFreeman Wills Crofts' first mystery, about a wine cask unloaded from a ship from France found to contain gold sovereigns, sawdust, and a woman's body --a cask which vanishes soon after it is ... Read full review
Contents
PART 1LONDON | 1 |
Inspector Burnley on the Track | 15 |
The Watcher on the Wall | 25 |
A Midnight Interview | 31 |
Felix Tells a Story | 38 |
The Art of Detection | 47 |
The Cask at Last | 60 |
The Opening of the Cask | 69 |
A Council of War | 138 |
Lefarge Hunts Alone | 148 |
The Testing of an Alibi | 159 |
Some Damning Evidence | 171 |
PART 3LONDON AND PARIS 21 A New Point of View | 183 |
Felix Tells a Second Story | 191 |
Clifford Gets to Work | 205 |
Mr Georges La Touche | 213 |
PART 2PARIS | 75 |
Who Wrote the Letter? | 83 |
At the Gare St Lazare | 98 |
The Owner of the Dress | 106 |
Boirac Makes a Statement | 113 |
The House in the Avenue de lAlma | 119 |
Inspector Burnley Up Against It | 128 |
Disappointment | 220 |
A Clue at Last | 227 |
La Touches Dilemma | 240 |
The Unravelling of the Web | 253 |
A Dramatic Dénouement | 262 |
Conclusion | 279 |
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Common terms and phrases
answered arrived asked began believe body Boirac brought Broughton Burnley called carter cask certainly Chief clear clerk Clifford close continued course crossed detective don’t door doubt dray entered evidence expected explained fact Felix felt François further Gare Gautier give gone hand head heard hope hour immediately inquiries Inspector kind knew La Touche leave Lefarge letter light London looked Madame matter mean mind minutes Monday monsieur morning moved murder never night once opened Paris passed perhaps present question reached remember replied returned Road round Scotland Yard seemed seen sent showed side statement station steps Street suppose sure telephone tell Thank thing thought told took Touche trace train turned wait walked yard
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Cask Dover Mystery Classics |
| Author | Freeman Wills Crofts |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Courier Dover Publications, 2019 |
| ISBN | 0486834417, 9780486834412 |
| Length | 288 pages |
| Subjects | › › Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Historical |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |