''Treason in My Breast'' is a 1938

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

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 ...

by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the fourth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous

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 ...

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and detective Arthur Crook.Murphy p.120 Crook became one of the established characters 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 ...

, although in this case the novel was more similar to a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

than a conventional whodunnit.

Synopsis

From her window, a housewife believes she has witnessed the build-up to a murder of a young woman in the flat opposite. She calls in Arthur Crook to assist her in unravelling a seemingly ingenious attempt to steal a large inheritance.

References

Bibliography

* Magill, Frank Northen . ''Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction: Authors, Volume 2''. Salem Press, 1988. *Murphy, Bruce F. ''The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery''. Springer, 1999. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. 1938 British novels British mystery novels British thriller novels Novels by Anthony Gilbert Novels set in London British detective novels Collins Crime Club books {{1930s-thriller-novel-stub