Jack-in-the-Box (novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1944 |
| Founder | Alfred Walter Stewart (as J.J. Connington) |
| Products | Detective novel |
Jack-in-the-Box is a 1944 detective novel authored by British writer Alfred Walter Stewart under the pseudonym J.J. Connington. This work represents the sixteenth entry in his series centered on Sir Clinton Driffield, who serves as the Chief Constable in a rural English county. The book was released by Hodder and Stoughton in London and Little, Brown and Company in the United States. Isaac Anderson of The New York Times remarked that the narrative demands either considerable scientific knowledge or confidence in Sir Clinton’s reasoning.
Synopsis
Taking place in 1942 amid World War II, the story unfolds as German air raids target a munitions factory in Ambledown. One bomb detonates near an ancient Roman encampment, where recent archaeological excavations uncovered a buried treasure on property intended for development. After the lead archaeologist dies during an air raid, questions arise regarding whether foul play was involved.
The land, held in trust for descendants of an early town founder, becomes pivotal when heirs start to perish under suspicious conditions. Sir Clinton uncovers that the bombing revealed significant tin reserves—a vital commodity now scarce due to Japanese occupation of Malaya—thus greatly increasing the property's worth. The case also features a Liberian fraudster who claims supernatural abilities, whom Sir Clinton eventually unravels.
Bibliography
- Barzun, Jacques & Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. Harper & Row, 1989.
- 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.
- Hubin, Allen J. Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Garland Publishing, 1984.
- Murphy, Bruce F. The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery. Springer, 1999.
- Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015.