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Murder in Piccadilly: A British Library Crime Classic    by Charles Kingston Amazon.com order for
Murder in Piccadilly
by Charles Kingston
Order:  USA  Can
Poisoned Pen, 2015 (2015)
Softcover, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth

Poisoned Pen Press was contacted by British Library Crime Classics to consider reprinting out-of-print mysteries. These classics were from 'the golden age of crime writing' and had not been available except as collectors' items. Charles Kingston's Murder in Piccadilly is one such delightful read.

Bobbie Cheldon is a young layabout, content to live in his mother's home and allow his wealthy uncle Massy to hand him a small stipend each month. His goal is to outlive his uncle and thus fall heir to the family estate along with a healthy income of ten thousand pounds a year.

When Uncle Massy is stabbed to death, of course, Bobbie is first on a list of suspects. Bobbie, however, is not bothered by that little problem. He is more concerned that his fiancée wants to marry only a man of stature and wealth; someone who is an important figure in London's upper class community. Bobbie is certainly not what she is looking for. She is a dancer in one of the lower end night clubs but dreams of being a lady of title and leisure. He lives with his mother and won't even consider holding a job.

There is a period where the separation between the police and the murder made me feel that I had started to read another book. However, it all came back together, but not before meeting some very different, very disreputable characters – all of them trying to make their way in their world but having a hard time doing it. Thinking nothing of breaking the law over and over again. This is interesting reading of another place and time.

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