EXCERPT: 'I'll get to the bottom of this mystery if it's the last thing I do. Hang it all, Jerry, it happened- someone must have done it.'
Jerry shrugged his shoulders.
'Taking the fellow's temperament and habits into consideration, I should call it an act of God and leave it at that,' he said.
W.T. shook his head.
'I won't be beaten,' he said. 'Everything that happens in this world has a natural, simple, logical explanation. I'm not a believer in magic, Jerry. In this case there doesn't seem to be any proof except that everyone is innocent. . . Everyone wanted to kill Crowther - everyone admitted that they entertained the idea - everyone had an opportunity, and yet nobody did it. It's an incredible situation.'

ABOUT 'THE WHITE COTTAGE MYSTERY': The mysterious recluse Eric Crowther was murdered, he lived in the gaunt house whose shadow fell across the White Cottage, much as the man himself overshadowed the lives of the occupants of the little white house. Indeed, as Detective Chief Inspector W.T. Challoner soon discovered, seven people had good cause to murder him. Everyone ought to have done it, but by the evidence nobody had. The seven suspects, all with excellent motives for killing the hateful Eric Crowther.
So it was not lack of evidence but rather a surfeit of it which sent Challoner and his son Jerry half across Europe in pursuit of the trail. He collected their secrets. And he used them. But which of these long-time sufferers had found the courage to pull the trigger? And should this benefactor really be prosecuted?

MY THOUGHTS: This is one of the best Golden Age Mysteries that I have read.

It is quite a short read at 120 pages - short story? novella? - but kept me absorbed and entertained throughout.

Matters are complicated by the detective's son, Jerry, falling in love with one of the suspects, which makes for some quite awkward moments. Secrets are revealed, as is the true identity of one of the suspects, but the solution to the case remains stubbornly elusive.

The eventual unmasking of the murderer's identity came as quite a surprise to me.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

#TheWhiteCottageMystery #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Margery Louise Allingham was born in Ealing, London in 1904 to a family of writers and earned her first fee at the age of eight, for a story printed in her aunt's magazine.
She married her husband, Phillip Youngman Carter, in 1928. He was her collaborator and designed the cover jackets for many of her books.
After a battle with breast cancer, Margery died in 1966.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for providing a digital ARC of The White Cottage Mystery by Marjory Allingham for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

White Cottage Mystery was Allingham's first mystery, published as newspaper serial 1927; first published in book form 1975.

So many suspects! So many motives! So many alibis!

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley

There were many suspects in this mystery with plenty of motive. I enjoyed the detectives investigation of each clue, and thought this was an entertaining read.
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion n

The plot is simple: Jerry finds a lovely girl and drives her home. Just as they arrive, a shot is heard. The dead man is a neighbor, who is hated by everyone around him. It just so happens that Jerry’s father is the famous Detective Chief Inspector Challenor, and aided by his son, he will do everything in his power to solve the mystery.

We’ve got plenty of suspects. Everyone really did hate the man, although no one wants to tell Challenor why. We’ve got a nice batch of secrets, a few red herrings, and a bit of travel. There’s even a little romance because of course, Jerry falls in love with the girl.

The White Cottage mystery is an enjoyable read, but I found I didn’t really care about any of the characters, maybe because the novel was so short. The final solution was well-done. All the clues added up, but I wouldn’t have guessed who the killer was.

TW: harassment, blackmail & use of the word cripple.

There's nothing I particularly enjoyed in this book. The writing is quite lacking as there is no atmosphere surrounding the mystery and the characters, I never felt fully immersed in the story. The characters are bland and lack complexity. I could see that Allingham wanted me to care about them, especially the main detective, but they had no personality traits only their main motivation for the mystery.

And I despised how Roger, the only disabled character was treated and talked about. He was almost never called by his name but by "invalid" or "crippled." Yes, this was written in the 20s, and "times were different" but that's no excuse to keep quiet about it. This is abhorrent behavior.

Overall, not too interested in anything else by this author.