The Night of Fear: A Golden Age Mystery Novel - Classic Detective Story for Crime Fiction Lovers, Perfect for Book Clubs & Cozy Reading Nights

The houseguests are playing hide and seek in the dark. One of them is found dead by a blind guest. Edgar Stallard, writer and heartless womanizer, has been brutally stabbed. The hapless blind man, Hugh Darrow, is arrested for the murder and put on trial.The case is strong against Darrow, but a woman who loves him hires private detective Hermann Glide to get at the truth. Glide’s methods can be unconventional, even on the edge of legal — but he considers anything justifiable that might save an innocent man from hanging. Glide is a fun sleuth — looks like a sick monkey and works a lump of modeling clay compulsively to help his mental processes.Because of police politics, the lead investigator is changed over and over. The least competent man ends up in charge. This makes for an interesting subplot.The trial is tense, dramatic and absorbing. The solution of the crimes was a total surprise to me. And the surprises continue even after the case is “solved.”Night of Fear appeared in 1931. The intricate plot and country house setting are pure Golden Age. Several love stories are woven effectively into the plot. Moray Dalton published twenty-nine crime novels, many featuring private inquiry agent Glide and his Scotland Yard pal Inspector Hugh Collier. I’ve read several of Dalton's novels and wish there were more. I was surprised to learn in the introduction that Moray Dalton was a woman. Her pen name is deceptively masculine.