I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Introducing the Toff
by
John Creasey
vintage mystery in a Kindle edition that was published by Stratus Books Ltd on September 21, 2023 and has 224 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include The Unbegotten, The Toff Goes On, Gideon and the Young Toughs and Other Stories, The Peril Ahead, The Death Miser, Redhead, Carriers of Death, First Came a Murder, Death Round the Corner, Death by Night, Sabotage, A Kind of Prisoner, The Mark of the Crescent
First in The Toff vintage mystery series and revolving around an aristocratic amateur sleuth. The focus is on the Honorable Richard Rollison, a.k.a. The Toff. It was originally published in 1938.
My Take
Creasey definitely gets it across, right from the start, of how feared the devil-may-care Toff is in the East End. Talk about a crime deterrent!
Creasey segues from this fear to a quick summary of how the Toff evolved from his moneyed worth and “a hatred of dullness” to his world tour of criminal enclaves and on to his defensive capabilities.
“Psychological terrorism.” If that doesn’t feel quite modern, I don’t know what does. As for the Toff’s interactions with Scotland Yard . . . I “think” it’s gotten a lot more restrictive these days, lol.
It’s a colorful cast of characters — and Richard finds himself bowled over by a woman for the first time. Woohoo. Yep, Creasey is using third person protagonist point-of-view from Richard’s perspective. It’s also a fascinating look at 1938 technology and culture with its over-the-counter meds.
Creasey introduces all sorts of doubt about a number of characters — the bad and the good. Frensham has his own doubts about the Toff and Anne’s reaction to him. I must say that Willow and Kellson are suspicious characters.
The Black Circle is clever in its drug distribution ideas.
It’s a simple, easy-read of a story with memorable characters, outrageous action, and daring rescues from an author of the Golden Age of detective stories.
The Story
What started as a pleasant day of cricket turned into a mysterious encounter with road rage, shooting, murder, and kidnapping. It’s too bad the bad guys captured Richard Rollison’s attention, for the Toff focuses on the why of it all.
The Characters
The Honorable Richard Rollison, a.k.a. Bernard Browning, alternates between being a man about town with a love for cricket to a suppressor of crime who lives in London. The dyspeptic Jolly is the Toff’s man. Bob and Patricia Tennant are friends of his who live in Surrey. They’ve had quite the adventurous life.
Scotland Yard
The Scottish Chief Inspector Horace McNab is one of the Toff’s contacts. Sir Ian Warrender is an assistant commissioner, who is popular with CID. Detective-Sergeant James Owen is cheerful. Chief Inspector Wilkinson is discreet. The Old Bailey is the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.
Reginald Colliss is an archeologist who uses this as his excuse for being in Turkey investigating the Black Circle. Morley is his butler.
The Black Circle is . . .
. . . a worldwide criminal organization, a mixture of an Oriental Ku Klux Klan and Ogpu, with its headquarters in Stamboul, Turkey. Achmed Dragoli, a.k.a. Smithers, is their troubleshooter.
Paul Goldman has just returned from Turkey. Anne Farraway was in the car with him that night. She works at a Chelmsford estate office. Ted Frensham, a cricket enthusiast and a sales rep for a wholesale chemist, Longley, Fare and Company, is Anne’s fiancé.
Willow and Kellson Ltd are another firm with a warehouse near the River Tavern owned by Winkle. His daughter, Rene, had been rescued by the Toff.
Harry the Pug is a retired prize-fighter who runs the Red Lion in Shadwell and takes the occasional kill order. Squinty works for Harry. Garrotty is the latest Chicago Big Shot (or New York City??) currently hanging out at the Steam Packet. Red is one of the members of his gang in England. The Steam Packet, a semi-high-class restaurant in Lambeth, is owned by Blind Sletter. Castillo is Sletter’s manager.
Alice Bligh is the nurse and Dr Alderson the house surgeon at Grandleys. Those who fear the Toff include Lopez the Killer. The Weasel is a pickpocket. Daisy Lee is a successful hooker. Old Ben is the doorman at Daisy’s apartment building. Mr Jones has an account at the National United Bank. The Millers are having a hard time making a go of it.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a simple one with its muddy lime green background and a black silhouette of a man in a top hat. The author’s name is in a brighter lime green at the man’s shoulders with the title below it in white.
The title is true enough, for Creasey is Introducing the Toff.
