Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy cover art

Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy

Inspector French Mystery, Book 3

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Inspector French and the Starvel Hollow Tragedy

By: Freeman Wills Crofts
Narrated by: Phil Fox
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

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

THREE CORPSES FOR INSPECTOR FRENCH

A chance invitation from friends saves Ruth Averill’s life on the night her uncle’s old house in Starvel Hollow is consumed by fire, killing him and incinerating the fortune he kept in cash. Dismissed at the inquest as a tragic accident, the case is closed – until Scotland Yard is alerted to the circulation of bank-notes supposedly destroyed in the inferno. Inspector Joseph French suspects that dark deeds were done in the Hollow that night and begins to uncover a brutal crime involving arson, murder and body snatching . . .

©1927 Estate of Freeman Wills Crofts (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Crime Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Thriller

Critic Reviews

“Freeman Wills Crofts is the only author who gives us intricate crime in fiction as it might really be, and not as the irreflective would like it to be.” OBSERVER

“A detective novel by Mr. Wills Crofts is always an event to those who know … Mr. Crofts is among the few muscular writers of detective fiction. He has never let me down.”
HAROLD NICOLSON, DAILY EXPRESS
All stars
Most relevant  
I has recently discovered Inspector French and I'm finding the books enormously entertaining. They are perfect for audio, as Phil Fox's expressive narration takes us through French's careful investigation of all possible leads until he discovers the truth. The 1920s setting makes a pleasant change from modern police procedurals with their emphasis on technology and trawling through a mass of data. These books are dated in a good way, with their portrait of an English way of life that is long gone.

This one has an intriguing mystery which takes a long time for French to unravel. I did guess the culprit, but then I second-guessed myself, such is the complexity of the solution. If you like the gentler pace of Golden Age detective stories, you'll enjoy this book.

Great fun

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.