The Lake District Murder

Theatre director and producer Ernest Elmore wrote thirty detective novels under the name John Bude, of which The Lake District Murder was one of the earliest. It was first published in 1935 and has been republished as part of the British Library Crime Classics series.

The Lake District Murder is the earliest Inspector Meredith story, the Inspector appearing in most of Bude's novels. In this case, Meredith investigates the apparent suicide of the owner of a remote roadside petrol station in the Lake District. As the case progresses we see that it was murder not suicide and wrapped up in a complicated plot involving illegal whisky stills.

As a detective novel The Lake District Murder works very well. Meredith is meticulous and thorough though sometimes the novel goes into a little too much detail. The part of the investigation that involves weights and measures for example could probably have done with a little editing!

For a second novel though it is excellent work. Bude manages to portray the geography of the setting very well. The Lake District becomes one of the principal characters.