Thirteen Guests (British Library Crime Classics) - Softcover

"The prolific Farjeon (1883-1955) remains a master of the English country house mystery, as shown by this entry in the British Library Crime Classics series. First published in 1936, it plays with the unlucky 13 superstition. When John Foss, a young man with a secret, injures his ankle while getting off a train, a charming young widow, Nadine Leveridge, brings him to Bragley Court, the estate of Lord Aveling, a politician. The 12 other guests include an actress, a novelist, an athlete, a painter, a gossip columnist, and an opposition politician. It turns out they all have emotional baggage as well as agendas. There's murder, mutilation, and mayhem aplenty until the redoubtable Detective Inspector Kendall reveals his clever conclusions with a timetable of mischief. The book holds up remarkably well, though readers should be prepared for some racial and class stereotyping (e.g., an Asian cook is referred to as 'the Chinaman')." (Publishers Weekly)

"...cosy readers as well as fans of Golden Age novels should enjoy Thirteen Guests. Martin Edwards contributes an interesting and informative introduction to this entry in the British Library Crime Classics series." (Mary Reed Eric Reed Mysteries)

"This reprint of a 1936 leisurely-paced British Country House police procedural contains an engaging mystery due to a fascinating scandalous cast whose interplay makes for a droll insightful cozy. J. Jefferson Farjeon wrote an intriguing still relevant period piece as the acceptance of de facto racism and social caste strata remain timely with the need for the Gay Rights and Black Lives Matter movements, and the 1% control of the economic-political complex." (Midwest Book Review)

"Thirteen Guests, A British Library Crime Classic by J. Farjeon is a mesmerizing Country House murder with multiple suspects, murky motives & flowerly language. I gave it four stars." (Carolyn Injoy-Hertz InJoyful Book Reviews)