''Post After Post-Mortem'' is a 1936 detective novel by

E.C.R. Lorac Edith Caroline Rivett (6 May 1894 – 2 July 1958) was a British crime writer, who wrote under the pseudonyms E. C. R. Lorac, Carol Carnac and Mary Le Bourne during the golden age of detective fiction. Life and career Childhood The youngest d ...

, the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett. It is the eleventh book featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

.Reilly p.260 Originally published by Collins Crime Club, it was reissued in 2022 by the

British Library Publishing The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

as part of a group of crime novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

Plot summary

The Surrays, a husband and wife and their five offspring, are a prolific writer family, having published scores of novels, reviews and treatises. Ruth, the middle sister, has, however, recently given her elder brother, Richard, some cause for concern. Richard, a psychiatrist, has seen that Ruth appears to be experiencing stress, and he recommends to their mother that she attempt to persuade Ruth to go on holiday with her. However, before this can take place, Ruth is discovered dead in her bedroom at her parents' house, complete with sleeping pills, a farewell letter, and a new will, all of which are strong indicators that she committed suicide. Following the inquest, which produces the anticipated result, Richard returns to his own house where he discovers a letter from Ruth that was written the evening of her passing but wasn't sent right away. In the letter, Ruth appears to be quite content and is making plans for the forthcoming week. Although he does not want to worry his family further, especially his mother, Richard feels compelled to share the contents of the letter with an acquaintance, Inspector Macdonald of the Yard. Macdonald agrees that there is cause to examine Ruth's death further. Ruth, a clever intellectual with much to say in her novels about the human condition but emotionally unsophisticated and even repressed in her private life, was somewhat of a paradox. Macdonald is soon persuaded that her death was murder and has a number of suspects to consider. On the surface, it would appear that the members of this happy family had no cause to murder a cherished sibling, but Macdonald suspects that more than one of them is concealing something. In addition to the family, three people whom Ruth had invited to a modest home party were involved in her literary profession in some manner, and these too are reluctant to give Macdonald information. Is this reticence designed merely to shield the family from further misery, or does someone have a more sinister reason?

References

Bibliography

* Cooper, John & Pike, B.A. ''Artists in Crime: An Illustrated Survey of Crime Fiction First Edition Dustwrappers, 1920-1970''. Scolar Press, 1995. * Hubin, Allen J. ''Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography''. Garland Publishing, 1984. * Nichols, Victoria & Thompson, Susan. ''Silk Stalkings: More Women Write of Murder''. Scarecrow Press, 1998. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1936 British novels British mystery novels Novels by E.C.R. Lorac Novels set in Oxfordshire Novels set in London British detective novels Collins Crime Club books {{1930s-crime-novel-stub