''The Pit-Prop Syndicate'' is a 1922

thriller novel Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Su ...

Freeman Wills Crofts Freeman Wills Crofts FRSA (1 June 1879 – 11 April 1957) was an Irish mystery author, best remembered for the character of Inspector Joseph French. A railway engineer by training, Crofts introduced railway themes into many of his stories, whi ...

, one of the leading figures of the

Golden Age of Detective Fiction The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. The Golden Age proper is, in practice, usually taken to refer to a type of fiction which was pre ...

. It was one of several stand-alone novels Crofts wrote following his successful debut ''

The Cask ''The Cask'' is a 1920 detective novel by the Irish-born writer Freeman Wills Crofts. His debut novel, it is considered his masterpiece. Long after the author's reputation had declined, this book was still hailed by critics as a cornerstone of th ...

'', before creating the character of

Inspector French Inspector Joseph French is a fictional British police detective created by Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts. French was a prominent detective from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, appearing in twenty-nine novels and a number of short storie ...

who debuted in ''

Inspector French's Greatest Case ''Inspector French's Greatest Case'' is a 1924 mystery detective novel by Freeman Wills Crofts. It in his series of novels featuring Inspector French, a Scotland Yard detective of the Golden Age known for his methodical technique.Herbert p.76 L ...

'' (1924).Evans p.153

Synopsis

A boat notionally carrying

pit prop A pit prop or mine prop (British and American usage, respectively) is a length of lumber used to prop up the roofs of tunnels in coal mines. Canada traditionally supplied pit props to the British market. As coal mining declined in importance and ...

s from the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

to the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

is in fact engaging in illegal

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

. This leads on to a murder in a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

and an investigation by the slow but sure Inspector Willis 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 ...

References

Bibliography

* Evans, Curtis. ''Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery: Cecil John Charles Street, Freeman Wills Crofts, Alfred Walter Stewart and the British Detective Novel, 1920-1961''. McFarland, 2014. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1922 British novels Novels by Freeman Wills Crofts British thriller novels Detective novels William Collins, Sons books Novels set in France Novels set in England Novels set in London {{1920s-thriller-novel-stub