Vernon Loder was a pseudonym for John George Hazlette Vahey, an Anglo-Irish writer. He wrote under a variety of names, indicating a versatile literary career. His diverse output suggests an author adept at exploring different genres and styles, offering readers a broad spectrum of literary experiences.
"Inspector Brews, having been summoned to Marsh House to meet the chief editor of The Daily Record, instead finds Hay Smith's body, still clutching the torn corners of several sheets of paper, near to an open window in the newspaper proprietor, Sir James Sitheby's, study. Brews is faced with a motey crew of suspects at Sir James' country house -- including journalists, an editor, a gossip-writer and a novelist, all seemingly with an axe to grind." -- Back cover.
Ned Hope, a writer of detective stories, takes Nancy Johnson, his fiancée, to view his recent purchase, Fen Court, a neglected house with three acres located in the Essex marshes. While touring the property, they discover 3 bodies in a pond, marking the beginning of a real life detective tale.
The delight of Christmas shoppers at the unveiling of a London department store's famous window display turns to horror when one of the mannequins is discovered to be a dead body ... Mander's Department Store in London's West End is so famous for its elaborate window displays that on Monday mornings crowds gather to watch the window blinds being raised on a new weekly display. On this particular Monday, just a few weeks before Christmas, the onlookers quickly realise that one of the figures is in fact a human corpse, placed among the wax mannequins. Then a second body is discovered, and this striking tableau begins a baffling and complex case for Inspector Devenish of Scotland Yard
First published by Collins in 1928, this was the first of 22 mystery novels by Vernon Loder, one of the most popular British mystery-thriller writers of his generation.