Mystery in the Channel

At the start of Crofts’s solid seventh procedural featuring Scotland Yard’s Inspector French, first published in 1931 (after Sir John Magill’s Last Journey), a steamship encounters a yacht adrift in the English Channel. Aboard the smaller boat are the corpses of two men, who were partners in Moxon’s General Securities, an investment firm. The Sussex County Constabulary calls on French to investigate. The grim find comes after the firm declared a deficit of about £8 million, causing a panic on the British Stock Exchange. A third partner and the accountant have gone missing as well. French methodically evaluates means, motive, opportunity, and the proffered alibis, after concluding that the killer was no stranger to his victims. Modern readers may find this entry in the British Library Classics series a bit dry, but it’s one of Crofts’s better efforts, redeemed by touches of humor (e.g., French’s greatest friendship on the force “survived perhaps the greatest test which could have been imposed on it, a walking tour in the Scottish highlands lasting for ten days”). (Jan.)