A Bone and a Hank of Hair

A Bone and a Hank of Hair
A Bone and a Hank of Hair

A Bone and a Hank of Hair

By Leo Bruce

Carolus Deene Series

192 Pages, 5.5 x 8.5

Formats: Trade Paper, Mobipocket

MOBIPOCKET, $9.99 (US $17.99) (CA $15.99)

ISBN 9781641602693

Rights: WOR

Chicago Review Press (Sep 2019)
Academy Chicago Publishers

Price: $9.99
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Overview

Brings back into print an acclaimed volume in the beloved Carolus Deene series
Carolus Deene, history master at Queen's School, Newminster, manages on the side to dabble in the art of gentlemanly detective work. In Leo Bruce's beloved A Bone and a Hank of Hair, Deene is approached by Mrs. Chalk, who is convinced her heiress cousin has been murdered. The suspect is, of course, Mr. Rathbone, the lady's wily widower. On the way to the truth, Deene encounters a host of friendly characters and oafish constabulary, leading readers in a delightful romp through the English landscape.

Reviews

This novel starring Carolus Deene, a gentleman detective in the Lord Peter Wimsey mold, has such a riveting premise that readers will easily overcome their annoyance at Deene's archaic, fussy demeanor and instead revel in the eerie goings-on. History master Deene spends his Christmas vacation investigating the disappearance of a woman believed to have been married to and murdered by a man named Brigham Rathbone. Deene stays in Rathbone's now-deserted home, Glose Cottage, near Canterbury, soaking up the creepy atmosphere. The detective painstakingly unravels a string of clues that show Rathbone may have a string of dead wives. An old-fashioned but still engaging mystery. —Booklist   (Dec 15, 1985)

Mild-mannered, middle-aged widower Carolus Deene sometimes manages to do a bit of sleuthing while engaged in his principal labors as senior history master at Queen's School, Newminster. In this mystery, Deene is advised by the formidable Mrs. Chalk that her heiress cousin has vanished and that the lady's idle, fortune-hunting husband Rathbone has surely murdered her and buried the corpse in the back garden. Deene's pursuit of the truth leads him from London to Hastings, from a remote cottage in the Kent countryside to a Cornwall colony swarming with artists and writers. Along the way he encounters some familiar types: the bluff, hearty, old-school-tie landlord, the tippling charlady; the reformed prostitute; assorted village snoops and gossips; the loathsome Rathbone (whose experience in theatricals has made him adept at disguise); and the inevitable bumbling local constabulary. The tale moves vigorously enough, and the suspense, though bearable, sustains interest in this pleasant confection. —Publishers Weekly (December 1985)

Author Biography

Leo Bruce was the pen name of Rupert Croft-Cooke, who wrote more than twenty highly praised mysteries featuring Carolus Deene. He also wrote eight mysteries featuring Sergeant William Beef, a cockney police detective who invariably knows who done it.

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By Leo Bruce

Mobipocket

Published Aug 2005

The dead bodies of two elderly ladies are discovered; both had been strangled. Each is found lying full-length, clasping in her hand the stem of a Madonna lily.
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By Leo Bruce

Mobipocket

Published Aug 2005

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By Leo Bruce

Mobipocket

Published Aug 2005

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By Leo Bruce

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A Bone and a Hank of Hair
A Bone and a Hank of Hair ›
By Leo Bruce

Trade Paper

Published Sep 2019

Carolus Deene, history master at Queen's School, Newminster, manages on the side to dabble in the art of gentlemanly detective work. In Leo Bruce's beloved A Bone and a Hank of Hair, Deene is approached by Mrs. Chalk, who is convinced her heiress cousin has been murdered. The suspect is, of course, Mr. Rathbone, the lady's wily widower. On the way to the truth, Deene encounters a host of friendly characters and oafish constabulary, leading readers in a delightful romp through the English landscape.