Written at the same
time as the early Fedora novels, the Lindy Grey
series were entertaining private-detective thrillers,
comprising over 4 titles.
Begin, Murderer! Lindsay
Grey starts as an urbane man-about-town who solves
murders that baffle the Oxford police. Self-described
as “a one-time private detective of one-time private
means”, Lindy (as he likes to be called) is not
ashamed of living a dissolute life.
Original Title |
Year |
Begin, Murderer! |
1951 |
This is Jezebel |
1952 |
Lady Lost |
1953 |
The Shaken Leaf |
1954 |
In the following novels, Grey is
described as a detective who "is ready to indulge
in violence or wisecracks, yet can still consult
books on criminology and quote Shakespeare". Lady
Lost, the third Grey novel, opens with Lindy
groping for something to help a hangover. Of his
neurotic fiancée, he comments that “her virtue
as a fiancée is that she hasn’t got any”. In
The Shaken Leaf he realizes that he smells
“like the Mortlake brewery” and marvels that his
“spirit-soaked breath” does not incommode other
young women.
The Lindy Grey books were later
adopted for BBC Radio Plays.
Of these novels, Prof. Songer writes that they
"reveal a young man's perception of sophistication
while they exhibit Cory's talent for wry humour
and clever style".
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