Bricklayer's Arms (novel)


Bricklayer's Arms is a 1945 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the forty first in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden [Age of Detective Fiction|Golden Age] armchair detective. It was published in America by Dodd Mead under the alternative title Shadow of a Crime. It was particularly notable for the lesser role played by Priestley, with the case being solved largely by Inspector Waghorn of Scotland Yard alone.

Synopsis

A local village deliveryman comes across the body of an estate agent near a railway bridge, apparently the victim of a motorcycle accident. Subsequent investigation reveals he was killed and suspicion turns towards the dead man's boss. A mysterious bricklayer seen in the vicinity may also have some vital clue to solve the case.