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    Inspector French’s Greatest Case
    Inspector French’s Greatest Case
    Inspector French’s Greatest Case
    Audiobook8 hours

    Inspector French’s Greatest Case

    Written by Freeman Wills Crofts

    Narrated by Phil Fox

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the Collins Crime Club archive, the first Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’.

    THE FIRST INSPECTOR FRENCH MYSTERY

    At the offices of the Hatton Garden diamond merchant Duke and Peabody, the body of old Mr Gething is discovered beside a now-empty safe. With multiple suspects, the robbery and murder is clearly the work of a master criminal, and requires a master detective to solve it. Meticulous as ever, Inspector Joseph French of Scotland Yard embarks on an investigation that takes him from the streets of London to Holland, France and Spain, and finally to a ship bound for South America . . .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 17, 2016
    ISBN9780008190606
    Author

    Freeman Wills Crofts

    Freeman Wills Crofts (1 June 1879 – 11 April 1957) was an Irish mystery author, best remembered for the character of Inspector Joseph French. A railway engineer by training, Crofts introduced railway themes into many of his stories, which were notable for their intricate planning. Although outshone by Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler and other more celebrated authors from the golden age of detective fiction, he was highly esteemed by those authors, and many of his books are still in print.

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    Reviews for Inspector French’s Greatest Case

    3.5/5

    47 ratings6 reviews

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    • 2/5
      This plot and others written by this author are so unnecessarily complicated that it makes Agatha Christie seem simplistic. Every thought and action needs to be pondered and explained and it just bogs the whole book down
    • 4/5
      Lots of travel for the good detective as he attempts to solve a diamond robbery and murder. Not much in the way of suspense, just a concentration on detecting.I enjoyed it, especially somebody running around London and getting anywhere he wished to be in a matter of minutes!
    • 5/5
      This is Inspector French’s debut mystery story, written in 1925 or so. French investigates a robbery and murder of a diamond merchant in London’s Hatton Garden. His investigation takes him all around London and also to Europe: Switzerland, Spain, France and Portugal. The exciting capture of the villain takes place in Oporto, Portugal. So in addition to the whodunit, there’s also the adventure of train and ship travel to entertain the reader.French is the narrator and star of the story. He has no “sidekick” like Holmes had Dr. Watson. His sounding boards are his wife and his superior officer back at Scotland Yard. Readers see the various suspects through French’s eyes and experiences.The plot is engaging – not overly complicated – and moves along at a good clip. Several times French thinks he has his culprit, only to have them slip away. He is frustrated but keeps going. The resolution comes in the last chapter , with the howdunit details revealed in the following Epilogue. A satisfying conclusion to an interesting murder mystery.Note: The eBook I read was not a British Library Crime Classic edition, so there was no Martin Edwards’ Introduction which usually appears in them. I enjoy those essays and missed having one here.
    • 3/5
      This is called "inspector French's Greatest Case" but it was also the first Inspector French case, so it did not have much competition at the time. My recollection is that there are laterFrench cases I liked better. This one involves a clerk reporting finding an open safe at a diamond merchant's office --and the body of the merchant's chief clerk.
    • 3/5
      This is truly a police procedural because the case is solved by shoe leather and following up each clue over period of weeks.
    • 3/5
      The first book about Crofts' best-known sleuth still makes for good reading, if you can overlook his flaws (in terms of writing style he makes Agatha Christie look like Henry James). The plot here involves a robbery at a Hatton Garden jewellers' firm, in which the chief clerk is murdered, and French's dogged pursuit of the criminals. Some red herrings are not developed very well, and an astute reader will probably spot the plot twist rather easily, but it's still worth your time if you like Golden Age mysteries.