Murder Came Late

Shadows at the Stroke of Midnight

When the body of esteemed antiquarian Leonard Farraday is discovered in the dimly lit office of his London townhouse, Inspector Roger West is summoned to unravel a baffling puzzle. John Creasey’s Murder Came Late (1970, New English Library) plunges readers into a labyrinth of hidden motives and clandestine rendezvous beneath the gaslit streets of the capital. From the outset, Creasey masterfully sets an atmosphere of mounting dread, painting every alleyway as a potential prowler’s haunt and every servant’s quiver of uncertainty as a revealing clue. As West sifts through coded messages and late-night telegrams, the layers of high society’s respectability begin to peel away, exposing dark debts and whispered betrayals.

A Mind Entangled in Crime

Tasked with piecing together a timeline that spans three restless nights, West confronts a gallery of suspects: the embittered business partner, the enigmatic housekeeper, and the estranged niece with a penchant for secret liaisons. Creasey’s prose crackles with the tension of unanswered questions—each interview teeters on the edge of confession, and every scrap of evidence could tip the balance toward innocence or guilt. Through meticulously detailed forensics and astute psychological insight, West navigates a web of half-truths, forging unexpected alliances with Scotland Yard’s forensic chemist and a retired crime writer whose intuition proves as sharp as any blade.

The Triumph of Deduction

In a striking climax set beneath the echoing domes of St. Paul’s Cathedral, West orchestrates a daring confrontation that reunites all suspects in one candlelit hall. As the final piece of evidence—a monogrammed cufflink stained with rare arsenic—comes to light, the inspector unveils a motive rooted not in wealth alone, but in the corrosive power of secrecy. Creasey’s intricate plotting delivers a payoff both surprising and inevitable, affirming his reputation as a progenitor of British detective fiction whose influence endures.

.John Creasey was a prolific and beloved author whose career spanned over 600 novels, deftly crafting unforgettable sleuths and suspenseful narratives that have enthralled generations of mystery aficionados.