Cover of In the Mayor's Parlour by Joseph Smith Fletcher Ebook In the Mayor's Parlour
Ebook · Sovereign

In the Mayor's Parlour

Author
Joseph Smith Fletcher
Language
English
Length
197 pages
ISBN
9781836104667
Published
23 July 2026
Imprint
Sovereign
  • murder mystery
  • political intrigue
  • small town
  • detective investigation
  • hidden secrets
  • locked-room mystery
  • mayor
  • English countryside
  • family secrets
  • crime fiction

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Description

In the Mayor's Parlour follows the murder of Hathelsborough's newly elected mayor, John Wallingford, who is found dead in his locked office shortly after taking office. His cousin, Richard Brent, investigates the baffling crime, uncovering political rivalries, hidden motives, and long-kept secrets. Set in a historic English town, the novel combines suspense, sharp detective work, and atmospheric storytelling.

Author

J. S. Fletcher (1863–1935) treated the detective story as a trade, and honoured it. He produced at a Victorian-Edwardian pace that later Golden Age writers would recognise: wills, country houses, city chambers, and the long English suspicion that respectability is a costume. Fletcher is not flashy. He is reliable — which, in crime fiction, is a kind of style.

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