Books in the Inspector Stoddart Mysteries series

The note left beside Dr. John Bastow's corpse simply read: "e;It was the man with the dark beard."e;Dr. Bastow hadn't approved of his daughter Hilary's fiance. So when Hilary's father is found shot dead inside his own office, the door-key turned from the inside, the fiance Basil Wilton becomes a chief suspect for Scotland Yard. Yet how could the crime have been engineered?Now an important lacquered box is missing; a former colleague of Bastow's has suddenly shaved his beard; and the doctor's ex-secretary has come mysteriously into money. Before Inspector Stoddart of the Yard can form conclusions, another murder takes place, again credited to the "e;Man with The Dark Beard"e;...The Man With the Dark Beard is the first of Annie Haynes' Inspector Stoddart mysteries, originally published in 1928. It is a sparkling lost classic from the early golden age of crime fiction."e;Miss Haynes, I think, improves steadily - this is the best detective story she has yet written."e; Time and Tide

The body lay face downwards in a foot of water at the bottom of the ditch. Up to the present it has not been identified. But a card was found in the pocket with the name of -The grisly discovery was overshadowed in the public imagination by Derby Day, the most prestigious event in the English horse-racing calendar. But Peep o' Day, the popular favourite for the Derby and owned by the murdered man, won't run now. Under Derby rules, the death means automatic disqualification.Did someone find an ingenious if ruthless way to stop the horse from competing? Or does the solution to the demise of Sir John Burslem lie away from the racetrack? The thoughtful Inspector Stoddart starts to investigate in a crowded field of sinister suspects and puzzling diversions.The Crime at Tattenham Corner was the second of the four Inspector Stoddart mysteries, first published in 1928. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."e;We not only encounter thrilling surprises but are introduced to many admirably life-like characters. Miss Haynes is here at her best. Excellent as a detective tale, the book is also a charming novel."e; Spectator

"e;Early this morning a gruesome discovery was made by a gardener employed at Holford Hall in Loamshire..."e;Robert Saunderson's murdered body is found in the summer house at Lord Medchester's country mansion. Some crystal beads, broken off a necklace and found on the scene, form the primary clue. But where is the necklace, and whose could it be?Detective inspector Stoddart and his assistant Harbord have to unravel a mystery that cost two men their lives and destroyed the reputation of others.The Crystal Beads Murder, first published in 1930, was the last of the Inspector Stoddart mysteries, and Annie Haynes' final book overall. She died, after a long illness, before completing it and it was finished by an unknown friend and fellow writer. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans."e;An uncommonly well-constructed tale...throughout the reader is kept continually on the 'qui vive'"e; Western Australian