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Rating: 
Summary: Interesting reprint from Golden Age of mysteries
Review: A Colorado mystery bookstore, The Rue Morgue, has been on a mission to reprint long-forgotten mysteries of the 1930s and 1940s, and their latest is "Death at The Dog," a tale of a murder in a rural British pub. World War II has just started and the first hints of change to their quiet life have started to appear: blackouts, army mobilization, and those older men left behind wondering how they can get into the war before its over. When the hated local squire is found dead in the corner after a night of drinking, an alert doctor discovers he had been injected with nicotine, and Scotland Yard inspector Guy Northeast is called in to investigate. The plotting is intricate and fair in the Golden Age tradition. But "Death" is only 156 pages long, which means there's not an ounce of fat on the story, but also no room for a depth of characterization and viewpoint that powers Sayers and Christie's works. But Cannan slowly builds interest in Northeast, and he becomes a compelling character. After the mystery is solved, it's not so much the story we remember, but the yearning, sad figure of Inspector Northeast. One would like to know what became of him.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting reprint from Golden Age of mysteries
Review: A Colorado mystery bookstore, The Rue Morgue, has been on a mission to reprint long-forgotten mysteries of the 1930s and 1940s, and their latest is "Death at The Dog," a tale of a murder in a rural British pub. World War II has just started and the first hints of change to their quiet life have started to appear: blackouts, army mobilization, and those older men left behind wondering how they can get into the war before its over. When the hated local squire is found dead in the corner after a night of drinking, an alert doctor discovers he had been injected with nicotine, and Scotland Yard inspector Guy Northeast is called in to investigate. The plotting is intricate and fair in the Golden Age tradition. But "Death" is only 156 pages long, which means there's not an ounce of fat on the story, but also no room for a depth of characterization and viewpoint that powers Sayers and Christie's works. But Cannan slowly builds interest in Northeast, and he becomes a compelling character. After the mystery is solved, it's not so much the story we remember, but the yearning, sad figure of Inspector Northeast. One would like to know what became of him.
Rating: 
Summary: An Undistinguished Effort
Review: As the previous review notes, the publisher of the series in which this book appears is on a mission to reprint long-forgotten mysteries. This one should have stayed forgotten. Specifically, the characters are undeveloped, the method of killing is both unlikely and scientifically dubious, the denoument is sprung with little advance support and the chief female, instead of being sympathetic, acts in such an adolescent fashion as to make one want to smack her.
Rating:
Summary: An Undistinguished Effort
Review: As the previous review notes, the publisher of the series in which this book appears is on a mission to reprint long-forgotten mysteries. This one should have stayed forgotten. Specifically, the characters are undeveloped, the method of killing is both unlikely and scientifically dubious, the denoument is sprung with little advance support and the chief female, instead of being sympathetic, acts in such an adolescent fashion as to make one want to smack her.
Rating:
Summary: An unconvincing plot
Review: This is a reprint of a long-forgotten mystery which would better have been left forgotten. The book's two strong points are its sense of atmosphere and the character of the detective. Its drawbacks are (1) the murder method is extremely dubious--cyanide does NOT kill instantly with the victim making no sound, (2) the chief female character, supposedly a mature woman, acts in such an adolescent manner as to engender a desire to kick her rather than any sympathy and (3) the solution is more or less sprung on the reader.
Rating:
Summary: An unconvincing plot
Review: This is a reprint of a long-forgotten mystery which would better have been left forgotten. The book's two strong points are its sense of atmosphere and the character of the detective. Its drawbacks are (1) the murder method is extremely dubious--cyanide does NOT kill instantly with the victim making no sound, (2) the chief female character, supposedly a mature woman, acts in such an adolescent manner as to engender a desire to kick her rather than any sympathy and (3) the solution is more or less sprung on the reader.
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