Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon

Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon ISBN-13: 9781464204890 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Released: Sept. 3, 2015

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
On a fine autumn weekend, Lord Aveling hosts a hunting party at his country house, Bragley Court. Among the guests are an actress, a journalist, an artist, and a mystery novelist. The unlucky thirteenth is John Foss, injured at the local train station and brought to the house to recuperate – but John is nursing a secret of his own.

Soon events take a sinister turn when a painting is mutilated, a dog stabbed, and a man strangled. Death strikes more than one of the house guests, and the police are called. Detective Inspector Kendall’s skills are tested to the utmost as he tries to uncover the hidden past of everyone at Bragley Court.

This country-house mystery is a forgotten classic of 1930s crime fiction by one of the most undeservedly neglected of golden age detective novelists.


My Review:
Thirteen Guests is a mystery set in England and was originally printed in 1936. The characters came across as realistic people. The author understood human nature, and this added some complexity to the characters. However, the focus was mainly on the mystery. Even the narrative leading up to the investigation was about clues, so pay attention. There are a lot of details to keep track of!

So it's a clue-based puzzle mystery. The story was told from the point of view of several different characters, so we get more information than any of the individual characters. This gives the reader a chance at solving the complex series of events. It really kept me thinking and re-evaluating possible scenarios based on new clues. It was an excellent mind workout!

There was no sex. There was a fair amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this complex mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.