Tragedy at Beechcroft

Book excerpt: Tragedy at Beechcroft, first published in 1935, is a classic British 'golden-age' murder mystery. The book, authored by A. E. Fielding (whose real identity remains somewhat of a mystery itself) features Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Pointer, who is called to the Beechcroft estate to investigate an 'accidental' death and an apparent suicide, but which are, in fact, murders. A host of characters, from the sinister to the silly, populate the Beechcroft household in this inventive, highly readable mystery. At first it had seemed just a tragic accident, a conjuring trick gone horribly wrong when a real sword substituted for a prop results in the death of a woman. Moments later the amateur magician, the ladies' husband, overwhelmed with grief committed suicide. But when certain aspects don’t seemed to add up, one of Scotland Yard’s finest, Chief Inspector Pointer, is sent to the scene of the tragedy, Beechcroft, to investigate. Was it truly an accident and suicide? Or was it something more sinister, a double murder? And if so, why? And more importantly, by whom? These are the questions Pointer must unravel as he investigates the . . . Tragedy at Beechcroft