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By Megan Bradley on Friday, May 3, 2019

PDF The Chestermarke Instinct Joseph Smith Fletcher 9781389131318 Books





Product details

  • Hardcover 270 pages
  • Publisher Blurb (January 9, 2019)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10 1389131319




The Chestermarke Instinct Joseph Smith Fletcher 9781389131318 Books Reviews


  • Told from the point of view of a young man who is a bank clerk at the recommendation of his guardian, the manager of a bank in a small town. When his guardian disappears one weekend the owners of the bank accuse him of stealing securities and jewels entrusted for safe-keeping. Wallie Neal is sure his guardian is an honorable man. Betty Fosdyke, the niece of the bank manager insists he's innocent as well. I suppose it's due to the time it was written, but even though the police feel the manager is also innocent, they don't "pursue their enquiries" in a very aggressive manner. Of course Wallie and Betty follow numerous leads and consult with the police, but it soon becomes apparent someone else also disappeared at the same time. Quite a bit of discussion back and forth occurs concerning who is the more honorable. As clues become available the pair pursues each one, with the help of the police until Wallie stumbles on the solution.
  • Betty Fosdyke is a thoroughly modern, up-to-date young woman who has no compunction about calling a couple of respectable bankers liars, in the latest slang of the 1920s. It helps that she's rich and her own boss. Her uncle, Mr. Horbury, manager of the Chestermarke bank, has disappeared, and the bankers claim he went off with securities and jewels.

    Mr. Horbury is such a principled, trustworthy person that no one but these unpleasant bankers can believe evil of him. There has to be another explanation. Two detectives from the Yard and the local police chief investigate, aided by the press, a handsome young bank clerk, the local townspeople, a cranky old antiquarian, and a shrewd traveling tinker, among others.

    Part of the fun of reading a Fletcher mystery is that we think we've guessed at the truth of the matter, and we have, partially, but the whole truth is incredibly complex and unexpected.

    The hero of this novel is the handsome young bank clerk, Wallington Neale. He gets himself into a tight spot that will make your blood pressure spike. The heroine is Miss Fosdyke, who is refreshingly brassy and pushy. She's not even conventionally pretty, just a force to be dealt with. Neale finds her captivating.

    The two bankers, the Chestermarke uncle and nephew, are two of the most unforgettable creeps in the literature of detection.

    The Chestermarke Instinct was first published in 1921. The setting is delicious - a gossipy old English town beside a rural wasteland full of dangerous abandoned mine shafts. This is my favorite Fletcher novel so far, and I've loved every one of them.

    Resurrected Press, as usual, does a nice job of typesetting, formatting and editing. The brief introduction is lively and informative.
  • This was well-plotted and kept my interest. I tend to prefer more character development and character interaction than I got here. The female lead especially was very stiff. The "nasties" weren't very well developed. The story line zipped along nicely and I liked the final few chapters..
  • I give this one five stars! J. S. Fletcher at his best! Grabs you from the get go and doesn't let go until the finish. If you like mysteries with lots of plot twists, great characters, and a page turning pace, you'll like this one. I've read several J. S. Fletcher novels and this is the best I've read so far.

    The mystery takes off from the beginning at a frantic pace, clues and red herrings galore, all of it wrapped up in page turning tour de force by a master of the craft. If you read no other J. S. Fletcher novel, read this one.
  • I rate all my books 1 through 10 and if they are a five I will read the author again. This book was interesting from beginning to end. It entailed a little too much detail for me but a good read. Old fashion characters and story but kept me guessing until the end. It is a mystery and I liked the plot, it had no horrible, gruesome, details and No Bad Language.
  • Enjoyed reading this book. Kept my attention. Do need to concentrate and remember all the characters and their names. Liked the mystery.
  • Second book I have read by this author.
    Intriguing read with excellent story line and quite a variety of characters.
    Very enjoyable
  • How delightful and, unfortunately, rare to read a book written in perfect English - the language is a delight even though obviously outdated. The characters were well developed, the story intriguing and retained my interest throughout. This was my introduction to the author and I look forward to enjoying more of his work.