"The Curious Case of the Templeton-Swifts" by Benedict Brown

It’s the spring of 1926. Christopher Prentiss is staring at his final (and imminent) school exams. He’s had a number of recent adventures with his grandfather, Lord Edgington, investigating murders, and now he’s focused on getting through exams to – do what exactly? His parents expect him to go on to university like his older brother, but Christopher is at somewhat loose ends about his future. 

And then his grandfather arrives, orders him into the car, and off they go, this time to investigate a murder before it happens. Lord Edgington has received a letter from a reclusive financier living at his country estate, asking for help because he’s convinced “she’s going to kill me.” The “she” in this case is supposedly the man’s considerably younger wife. 

 

For a change, Christopher’s mother is with them; she had shared a few adventures with her father back in the day, and her father thinks she might be able to help them with the possible suspects. They soon arrive at the estate of the Templeton-Swifts. In addition to the wife (whom Christopher gets something of a crush on), in attendance are the man’s two sons and daughter, a rather unskilled cook, her husband the gardener, and their daughter, a maid. 

 

Benedict Brown

Lord Edgington had been asked to come to prevent a murder, but the ailing older man is soon found dead, smothered in his bed. Or was he given an overdose of morphine?

 

The Curious Case of the Templeton-Swifts is the sixth of the Lord Edgington mystery novels by British author Benedict Brown. It’s a fun mystery, full of period information. And it’s also the story of Christopher trying to determine his future – and his grandfather thinks he would make a fine detective.

 

In addition to the six published Lord Edgington stories, Brown has written seven Izzy Palmer mystery novels and three novellas. A native of south London, he lives with his family in Spain. The Lord Edgington mysteries are likely aimed at both the general reader as well as the young adult audience. And they’re well-researched stories, full of information about the mid-1920s.

 

Related:

 

Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown.

 

A Body at a Boarding School by Benedict Brown.

 

The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall by Benedict Brown.

 

 Death on a Summer’s Day by Benedict Brown.

 

The Tangled Treasure Trail by Benedict Brown.