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Ernest Robertson Punshon
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The Conqueror Inn: A Bobby Owen Mystery Kindle Edition

by E.R. Punshon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 159 ratings
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“I wouldn’t come any nearer if I were you. It’s not a thing to see unless you have to.”

The remote Conqueror Inn, possibly the oldest licensed house in England, has an unexpectedly key role to play in World War Two. Lorry drivers, army camps, black marketeers and even the IRA become entangled in the sinister web which draws this novel’s plot together. Bobby Owen, after finding a case of banknotes, has to identify a corpse mutilated in its grave, ignore the red herrings thrown in his way … and identify a ruthless killer who uses the confusion of war to conceal his tracks.

The Conqueror Inn was first published in 1943, the eighteenth of the Bobby Owen mysteries, a series eventually including thirty-five novels. This new edition features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

“What is distinction? … in the works of Mr. E.R. Punshon we salute it every time.” Dorothy L. Sayers

“[An] extremely intricate crime puzzle with an equally intricate solution” New York Times Book Review

“[An] impressive baffler by one of the better English practitioners.” New York Herald Tribune Book Review

“Solid construction … distinguished characterization” San Francisco Chronicle

“One of the foremost British thriller-writers here gives us a first-class mystery, replete with creeps, thrills and tingles of foreboding as one grim scene builds into another and suspicion is expertly thrown in turn against each actor in this sinister drama of greed and hate couched in wartime datelines. … A better tale of dark deeds would be hard to come by.” Hoofs and Horns

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  1. Book 18 of 35
    The Bobby Owen Mysteries
  2. Print length
    220 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 22, 2016
  6. File size
    1318 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

E.R. Punshon was born in London in 1872. At the age of fourteen he started life in an office. His employers soon informed him that he would never make a really satisfactory clerk, and he, agreeing, spent the next few years wandering about Canada and the United States, endeavouring without great success to earn a living in any occupation that offered. Returning home by way of working a passage on a cattle boat, he began to write. He contributed to many magazines and periodicals, wrote plays, and published nearly fifty novels, among which his detective stories proved the most popular and enduring. He died in 1956.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01IXU9RTS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dean Street Press (July 22, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 22, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1318 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 220 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 191141335X
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 159 ratings

About the author

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Ernest Robertson Punshon

Ernest Robertson Punshon

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
159 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Patto
5.0 out of 5 stars A tangle of disconnected facts, uncertain motives & emotional complications...
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
First published in 1943, The Conqueror Inn is not only an intricate puzzle -- but also a mystery permeated with the atmosphere of wartime England. Inspector Bobby Owen keeps trying (unsuccessfully) to resign so he can enlist. Country roads fall into disrepair as the country focuses on the war effort. And compulsory blackouts every night offer perfect opportunities for crime...

A wooden case full of money found by the side of the road leads to the discovery of a body buried nearby. The corpse can't be identified because the face has been battered beyond recognition. Bobby's first challenge is to find out who the young man was. He engages in endless frustrating conversations with everyone who might possibly know anything. No one cooperates, so Bobby has to piece his theories together from disconnected facts. Since no one tells the truth, Bobby has to glean significance from lies and evasions.

Strong personalities with hidden agendas abound. And the setting deepens the mystery. The dead man was killed in the lonely neighborhood of The Conqueror Inn. The inn rarely has guests or even visitors, and the innkeeper and his daughter seem oddly uninterested in attracting business -- and they clam up when questioned. Then there are the two transport companies whose lorries use the road going by. Their proprietors and drivers won't give straight answers to a question either.

Romance and intrigue complicate Bobby's investigation. His speculations, shared with his sergeant and sometimes his wife, can get a bit tedious, but surprise developments keep things lively. And the denouement could not be more exciting. E.R. Punshon is great find for fans of Golden Age detective fiction.
3 people found this helpful
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Booker
4.0 out of 5 stars The detective work reminded me of Sherlock Holmes, but ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2017
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The detective work reminded me of Sherlock Holmes, but I did not find the book very interesting. I would not look for more Bobby Owen stories.
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Fred Mason
5.0 out of 5 stars A historical escape.
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2020
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I really enjoyed this novel. It was really interesting to see character development and crime analysis before the age of cell phones and during a period of war. They had a whole different way of working which was interesting to see.
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Mystery Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars Golden Age Procedural
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2020
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Well developed characters, twisty plot, lovely old school writing, and a story that moves right along. An excellent read - the whole series for that matter.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars there are no rattle snakes in england
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2017
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the only foto I could find of a bayard was a 1906 model. 847 ccs, 3 spd manual trans. good read. why they didnt take dabs early on. plot got hairy with under lying sub plots. still a good read.
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alane farmer
5.0 out of 5 stars Bobby Owens
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2016
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With the War still raging some are making money hand over fist. Others businesses have been reduced to nothing. But a few empty outbuildings in a remote location may be all one needs to change the course of their fortunes.
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Jan K
2.0 out of 5 stars Boring Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2017
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This is a plodding mystery that takes ages to solve. If you like old Europe murder mystery's then this book may be of some interest to you. I, however, found it to be quite boring and none of the characters all that interesting. The mystery wrap-up was even a snooze-fest!
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thomastoo
2.0 out of 5 stars Not the best Bobby Owen
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2019
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Much of the book was Bobby speculating on what and who. Very few real clues. It took a number of pages at the end for Boggy to explain what happened. A confusing story.
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Top reviews from other countries

M - UK
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Bobby Owen stories
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is an atmospheric story that the author has obviously researched well. It evokes the seedy side of wartime Britain and brings out the nature of crime in what is so often thought of (quite wrongly) as a time of the so-called blitz spirit -when there were spivs and murderers hiding in plain sight. There is also the matter of anti-Irish sentiment that is touched on in here (and later books) which is conveniently forgotten in 21st Century England.
The plot is sufficiently well developed to leave the reader guessing and looking for where the story will go next. Bobby's wife gets a bit of a look-in, but Punshon fails to develop the opportunity she offers to move the story on.
This is perhaps my favourite in this classic - but overlooked - series.
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Jose Ignacio
4.0 out of 5 stars A Stylish Mystery
Reviewed in Spain on February 18, 2017
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For an excellent summary and an erudite introduction to this book, I would suggest to read the prologue by Curtis Evans, available in the link "Echa un vistazo". I’m very pleased to have had the chance to read The Conqueror Inn, a really captivating book in my view that reflects very well the atmosphere and the spirit at the English countryside during the Second World War. The storyline is rather complex but is very nicely structured and, at the end, all the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly well. The solution to the mystery is stylish and provides an appropriate explanation to all the unknowns posed. Besides, Punshon writes in a style that, in my view, is both elegant and convincing. All in all an enjoyable enigma.
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Mr. A.J. PENDLEBURY
4.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't go to this pub for my drinks !
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2016
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Both the synopsis and the erudite introduction by Curtis Evans give an accurate dimension to this fascinating book . For the first time the reader is fully aware of the nature of WW2 and the restrictions and regulations. The sinister setting of the redundant inn is perfectly done. In addition Bobby is seen to be working very hard with little available manpower . He does a valiant job and in the end really does try to be fair .

As ever with Punshon the little throwaway political asides mark him out as above the normal crime writing level and the complex solution works in many ways . My only gripe is that at times I do feel that he over writes --too much inner speculation and I did feel that the book could have benefited by a few cuts .
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J.G.Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars creates accurate period atmosphere with plenty of clues but I have already forgotten who dunnit.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2022
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creates accurate period atmosphere with plenty of clues but I have already forgotten who dunnit.
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ginny
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2017
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I love these books.
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