Sayers, and which included amongst its members Agatha Christie, G.K. Through this organisation Anthony Berkeley parodies the real life Detection Club, an enterprise he established in partnership with Dorothy L. To date only six people have passed the rather formidable entrance requirements: four writers, one barrister, and the rather timid and unassuming Ambrose Chitterwick. The Crime Circle functions as an exclusive club facilitating discussion between individuals with an intense interest in criminology. It is a convenient hypothesis, and one that explains why they have been unable to solve the crime.īut this puzzle which baffles the police offers the members of the Crime Circle an intellectual challenge, and an opportunity to test their wits against both the Yard and each other. The police now speculate that the murderer may have been a pious though deranged individual intent on ridding the world of the menace that is Sir Pennefather. But in a fit of pique, he passes the tainted sweets onto Bendix, who takes them home and shares them with his wife later that afternoon Bendix is taken ill, and his wife dies.
The chocolates had originally been received in the mail by Sir Eustace Pennefather, a predatory and indiscreet womaniser, and a man certain to have many enemies amongst the discarded mistresses and cuckolded husbands he leaves in his wake.
The police have exhausted their leads and all but abandoned the search for the murderer of Joan Bendix, a woman who met her death by sampling from a box of poisoned chocolates, apparently the inadvertent victim of a murder plot which misfired. I can think of scores of instances.Don't you see what I mean? Is it chance ever time, or is Providence avenging the victim?" "How often don't you people at the Yard stumble on some vital piece of evidence out of pure chance? How often isn't it that you're led to the right solution by what seems a series of mere coincidences? I'm not belittling your detective work but just think how often a piece of brilliant detective-work which has led you most of the way but not the last few vital inches, meets with some remarkable stroke of sheer luck (thoroughly well-deserved luck, no doubt, but luck), which just makes the case complete for you.
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