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Bobby Owen Mysteries #28
The Secret Search
“There’s a spot of trouble this morning. Old gentleman found dead in his bath.”
Bobby “there may be one chance in a million it’s natural death.”
When the notorious gangster Cy King was imprisoned thanks to Commander Bobby Owen’s investigation, he spent a good deal of time talking about avenging himself. Now Cy’s out of jail, linked to a notorious London nightclub owner, while a man impersonating Bobby has been spotted snooping around in a remote London suburb. The same suburb, as it happens, where a young woman, recently arrived from Canada, has seemingly vanished into thin air. All Bobby’s investigations lead to the unassuming borough of Southam, where the disappearance of Elizabeth Smith is compounded by the sudden death of a respectable old man. Cy keep dodging around in the background of the case, but can Bobby bring it home to the old villain – or find an alternative solution?
The Secret Search, a classic golden age whodunit, is the twenty-eighth novel in the Bobby Owen Mystery series, originally published in 1951. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans, and a selection of E.R. Punshon’s prolific Guardian reviews of other golden age mystery fiction.
“What is distinction? … in the works of Mr. E.R. Punshon we salute it every time.”--Dorothy L. Sayers
Bobby “there may be one chance in a million it’s natural death.”
When the notorious gangster Cy King was imprisoned thanks to Commander Bobby Owen’s investigation, he spent a good deal of time talking about avenging himself. Now Cy’s out of jail, linked to a notorious London nightclub owner, while a man impersonating Bobby has been spotted snooping around in a remote London suburb. The same suburb, as it happens, where a young woman, recently arrived from Canada, has seemingly vanished into thin air. All Bobby’s investigations lead to the unassuming borough of Southam, where the disappearance of Elizabeth Smith is compounded by the sudden death of a respectable old man. Cy keep dodging around in the background of the case, but can Bobby bring it home to the old villain – or find an alternative solution?
The Secret Search, a classic golden age whodunit, is the twenty-eighth novel in the Bobby Owen Mystery series, originally published in 1951. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans, and a selection of E.R. Punshon’s prolific Guardian reviews of other golden age mystery fiction.
“What is distinction? … in the works of Mr. E.R. Punshon we salute it every time.”--Dorothy L. Sayers
- GenresMystery
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1951
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31 people want to read
About the author
E.R. Punshon
73 books16 followersAka Robertson Halket.
E.R. Punshon (Ernest Robertson Punshon) (1872-1956) was an English novelist and literary critic of the early 20th century. He also wrote under the pseudonym Robertson Halket. Primarily writing on crime and deduction, he enjoyed some literary success in the 1930s and 1940s. Today, he is remembered, in the main, as the creator of Police Constable Bobby Owen, the protagonist of many of Punshon's novels. He reviewed many of Agatha Christie's novels for The Guardian on their first publication.
E.R. Punshon (Ernest Robertson Punshon) (1872-1956) was an English novelist and literary critic of the early 20th century. He also wrote under the pseudonym Robertson Halket. Primarily writing on crime and deduction, he enjoyed some literary success in the 1930s and 1940s. Today, he is remembered, in the main, as the creator of Police Constable Bobby Owen, the protagonist of many of Punshon's novels. He reviewed many of Agatha Christie's novels for The Guardian on their first publication.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 16, 2024
The Bobby Owen Mysteries series has always been a police procedural. In the beginning, Bobby was a constable and happened to be on the scene when a murder was discovered. His superior took a liking to him and Bobby's career was launched. Bobby Owen was always patient and thought things through. The series has been a good police procedural which I have enjoyed.
I'm not sure what Punshon was thinking for this one. It appears he was trying to make a thriller out of it. Bobby was not only not patient, but he didn't have a murder investigation ongoing to be thinking about. This tried to be a thriller. I have been reading another series that is truly a thriller. In that one, the story is told from the POV of the investigator who is trying to solve the mystery before he himself is murdered. In Punshon's The Secret Search, Bobby is under no threat. The reader has never met the person who probably is under a threat. It just didn't work.
I fear for the remaining books in this series. I have been faithfully reading one every other month for several years and there are only 7 installments remaining. Can you hear the BUT coming? But, I'm not positive I'll keep to the same schedule. I do have all but one ready for the Kindle so I'll probably end up reading them. This, however, at 2-stars, puts me off. We'll see when February comes around if I'm up for the next one.
I'm not sure what Punshon was thinking for this one. It appears he was trying to make a thriller out of it. Bobby was not only not patient, but he didn't have a murder investigation ongoing to be thinking about. This tried to be a thriller. I have been reading another series that is truly a thriller. In that one, the story is told from the POV of the investigator who is trying to solve the mystery before he himself is murdered. In Punshon's The Secret Search, Bobby is under no threat. The reader has never met the person who probably is under a threat. It just didn't work.
I fear for the remaining books in this series. I have been faithfully reading one every other month for several years and there are only 7 installments remaining. Can you hear the BUT coming? But, I'm not positive I'll keep to the same schedule. I do have all but one ready for the Kindle so I'll probably end up reading them. This, however, at 2-stars, puts me off. We'll see when February comes around if I'm up for the next one.
March 12, 2025
Bobby Owen investigates a complex case involving the sighting of some familiar underworld characters, the suspicious death of a wealthy man, and the disappearance of a young woman.
This was more of a thriller than a classic mystery, with the reappearance of Bobby’s old adversary Cy King and the race against time to save a life. It didn’t quite work in some respects - the action slows down in the middle part, and there is a strange dabbling with ESP and the supernatural (presumably a hot topic at the time) - but Punshon is really good at conveying the chilling effect of evil intruding into the everyday world and he certainly knows how to create a thrilling conclusion.
The plot was quite a clever and convincing one, and the different criminal gangs were clearly distinguished. It was nice to see Olive providing her invaluable support to Bobby, and I also appreciated the insight into Bobby’s anger and frustration as he tries to find a way through the confusion. Another enjoyable episode in this classic series.
This was more of a thriller than a classic mystery, with the reappearance of Bobby’s old adversary Cy King and the race against time to save a life. It didn’t quite work in some respects - the action slows down in the middle part, and there is a strange dabbling with ESP and the supernatural (presumably a hot topic at the time) - but Punshon is really good at conveying the chilling effect of evil intruding into the everyday world and he certainly knows how to create a thrilling conclusion.
The plot was quite a clever and convincing one, and the different criminal gangs were clearly distinguished. It was nice to see Olive providing her invaluable support to Bobby, and I also appreciated the insight into Bobby’s anger and frustration as he tries to find a way through the confusion. Another enjoyable episode in this classic series.
December 29, 2019
Three and a half stars.
After a fairly long break from Bobby Owen I have resumed my chronological reading of them and I have to say that I rather enjoyed this one. It had a bit of everything; murder, kidnapping, impersonation (of Bobby) etc. etc.
I agree with Eric that it was probably a bit too long and it did lag rather in the middle. However, it livened up well towards the end and Punshon managed to rack up the tension very well.
Not bad at all.
After a fairly long break from Bobby Owen I have resumed my chronological reading of them and I have to say that I rather enjoyed this one. It had a bit of everything; murder, kidnapping, impersonation (of Bobby) etc. etc.
I agree with Eric that it was probably a bit too long and it did lag rather in the middle. However, it livened up well towards the end and Punshon managed to rack up the tension very well.
Not bad at all.
February 19, 2025
Wavered between three and four stars. Pluses: very good plot, interesting villains, touches of humor, office politics, and Olive's opinions. But there are touches of the supernatural, or ESP, and a mysterious voice that is dropped and never explained. I enjoyed it, so four stars.
November 22, 2017
“The Secret Search” appears, at times, to be more complicated than it really is. At one point, just over halfway through, I felt the story sagged a bit and rather lost momentum. However, overall , this was another good case for Commander Bobby Owen in which the interest lay in the uncertainty of whether or not Scotland Yard could bring about a satisfactory conclusion. Readers may differ in their opinions about justice being done here.
The story involves inheritance, fraud, personation, kidnapping, drugging, assault and murder in various locations in and around London and at the seaside.
The characters include a rich collector of antiques and various policemen and villains including a sinister Russian.
Again there is good interaction between Bobby and Olive but there are also passages which are very wordy. The book felt too long to sustain what was essentially, despite the dressing up, a fairly simple plot.
3.5 stars.
The story involves inheritance, fraud, personation, kidnapping, drugging, assault and murder in various locations in and around London and at the seaside.
The characters include a rich collector of antiques and various policemen and villains including a sinister Russian.
Again there is good interaction between Bobby and Olive but there are also passages which are very wordy. The book felt too long to sustain what was essentially, despite the dressing up, a fairly simple plot.
3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews