''Rope's End, Rogue's End'' is a 1942

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

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 twenty first in her long-running series featuring

Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

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 ...

, a

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

detective who relies on standard

police procedure The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

to solve his cases.Reilly p.260 It takes the form of the

country house mystery The closed circle of suspects is a common element of detective fiction, and the subgenre that employs it can be referred to as the closed circle mystery. Less precisely, this subgenre – works with the closed circle literary device � ...

, popular during the era.

Synopsis

Veronica Mallowood summons her various relatives to Wulfstane Manor to discuss the future of the family property, the first time they have all gathered there together since the death of her father. The following day her brother is shot in an apparent suicide, which turns out to be murder.

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. 1942 British novels British mystery novels Novels by E.C.R. Lorac Novels set in England British detective novels Collins Crime Club books {{1940s-novel-stub