Murder on the Marsh

"The Romney Marsh mystery, one of the most diabolically ingenious murders in criminal records, began in fact, like a little cloud, no bigger than a man’s hand rising out of the sea, formless as a breath, unsubstantial as a dream.”

In Murder on the Marsh (1930), a letter of great interest has been delivered to The Daily Record from Miss Ann Cardew for The Lamplighter, the ‘nom de plume’ of crime reporter and amateur detective, Francis McNab, outlining her concern about her father’s recent erratic and bizarre behaviour.

With a reputation for notable investigative scoops, McNab invites his younger fellow journalist and narrator of this story, Godfrey Chance, to meet Miss Cardew, yet afterwards dismisses her worries as the result of an overactive imagination.

However, before McNab has had a chance to meet her father, Mr Cardew is found dead on his front lawn with no sign of foul play. McNab, suspecting something of a sinister nature, encourages Chance to visit New Romney to discover why an inquest has been called.

Had Mr Cardew been afraid of something or someone that appeared in the garden at night? And why had he been more fearful on Wednesdays - and often on Tuesday nights too?

John Ferguson (1871-1952) was born at Callander, Perthshire and is the author of ten mysteries, including The Grouse Moor Mystery (1934) and The Death of Mr Dodsley (1937), though probably best known for his play, Campbell of Kilmohr.

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