"Richardson Scores Again" by Basil Thomson

Constable Richardson did such an outstanding job with his first case and he was promoted to Sergeant. He had caught the notice of the higher-ups in London’s Metropolitan Police that he was promoted over several others who had been waiting far longer. Beneficially for Richardson (who, apparently, has no first name), none of his colleagues seem to hold a grudge; Richardson is as charming as he is self-effacing.

A murder occurs in Hampstead; a maid is shot and killed one night during a burglary. Richardson and his boss are drawn into the investigation. But there are too many odd things connected to it, including what looks like an attempt to frame or implicate a young naval officer whose uncle owns the home where the maid was employed.

And then it becomes even murkier. What possible connection could there be between a murder case in suburban north London, a chicken farm near Hampstead, a rising young member of Parliament taking ill during a speech, a society to help ex-convicts find work, and even a missing parrot? But Richardson (assisted by his boss and a lawyer for the naval officer) is on the case, and sees connections where his colleagues see nothing.

Basil Thomson

First published in 1934 during the Golden Age of Mystery, Richardson Scores Again by Basil Thomson (1861-1939) is one complex, intricately plotted mystery novel. Thomson had a wide-ranging background in everything from diplomatic service and prison management to police department leadership (you can read the details of Thomson’s life in my review of the first Inspector Richardson novel, Richardson’s First Case.)

Thomson was a prolific writer, and the eight Inspector Richardson novels were written in the last decade of his life. They’re the story of the meteoric rise of an ambitious young policeman, who relies on deduction and scientific evidence (he even carries an attaché case with him that contains fingerprinting inks and cards, plaster for making models of footprints, and other  tools considered standard today).

Richardson Scores Again is a fine (and fun) example of the classic police procedural written during the height of the Golden Age for mystery and detective novels. And you can be assured that Richardson will get his man.

Related:

My review of Richardson’s First Case.

Top photograph: Charing Cross Road in London in the 1930s. The street plays a role in Richardson Scores Again.

“Richardson’s First Case” by Basil Thomson

Basil Thomson (1861-1939) had more professional lives than one could almost imagine. As a young man, he held a number of positions in Britain’s Colonial Office, most of them connected to posts in British Oceania like Fiji and Tonga. Because of his wife failing health, he returned to Britain in 1893, read for the bar examinations, and was admitted. But instead of practicing as an attorney (or barrister), he joined Britain’s prison administration. For 12 years, he served as deputy governor and then governor of several prisons, including Dartmoor. Then he became secretary of the Prison Commission.

In 1913, Thomson joined the Metropolitan Police as an Assistant Commissioner of Crime, which made him head of the Criminal Investigation Department of New Scotland Yard. When World War I broke out, he was called upon to expand his role to include military intelligence – which meant he set about catching spies. One of the spies he interviewed but did not apprehend was Mata Hari.

Knighted in 1919, Thomson continued his CID and intelligence roles until 1921, when he was forced to resign by Prime Minister Lloyd George (no one knows why). In 1925, he was arrested in Hyde Park for alleged indecent acts with a young woman. He claimed it was a set-up and that he was interviewing her for a book. But Thomson paid his fine of five pounds.

And he was a writer. He published novels, books on diplomacy, colonial service, and related matters. And then in the 1930s, he put his hand to writing mysteries – and it is these eight “Inspector Richardson” books for which he’s best remembered.

The series chronicles the rapid rise of a young, ambitious constable. In Richardson’s First Case, PC Richardson (we don’t know his first name) is standing on duty late one afternoon on (where else?) Baker Street in the Marylebone district of London when an elderly man is struck by an automobile. It appears to be an accident. The victim dies at the hospital. And then it’s discovered that the victim’s estranged wife is missing.

Basil Thomson

In this first Richardson novel, the constable plays a small but pivotal role. He catches the eye of one of the investigation leads and is assigned to the help on the case. Richardson is resourceful and unorthodox, and he’s able to suggest motives and reasons for witnesses who lie that doesn’t occur to the regular investigating officers.

The estranged wife is found dead at her husband’s business, and an inheritance turns on which of the two died first.

The novel was first published in 1933. This new e-book edition is introduced by mystery writer Martin Edwards, who provides an in-depth overview of Thomson and the Inspector Richardson mysteries and their place in the Golden Age of mystery writing.

Richardson’s First Case is action-packed, entertaining, and keeps the reader guessing until the end.

Photograph: The buildings that were New Scotland Yard in the 1930s, by Anthony O’Neil via Wikimedia.