Cornelia Lackland ruled her house with an iron fist and a firm grasp on the pocketbook. Her late husband—she was his second wife—had left her in charge of his two granddaughters and his self-made fortune.  John Lackland has risen from nothing to something, only to see his own children rebel against him and make bad, impulsive marital choices He was determined that his granddaughters not follow in their footsteps. Cornelia, a former stage actress whose own past was a bit colorful, was more than up to the task. Jenny and Carol lived as virtual prisoners, albeit quite comfortably, in a large house filled with servants in the old cathedral town of Minsterbridge, located just thirty miles from London.

What’s more, the two cousins couldn’t even be sure if Mrs. Lackland’s death would set them free, since the provisions of their grandfather’s will were sealed. Things came to a head one hot summer in the late 1930s when the old lady took ill, hovered at the edge of death, and then miraculously recovered. But the night before she was to meet with her solicitor to make yet one more change in her will, she was found dead, the apparent victim of a poisoner. Chief Inspector Dan Pardoe of Scotland Yard is called in to investigate an ever-growing list of suspects.

This classic 1938 Golden Age detective novel marked the debut of Dorothy Bowers, a very talented writer in the Sayers school who might well have joined the ranks of the masters of the genre had she not died from tuberculosis at the age of 46 after completing only five novels.

Reviews

“Dorothy Bowers, who died of tuberculosis at 46 in 1948, wrote just five mysteries, but she could well have become another Dorothy L. Sayers if Postscript to Poison is any indication of her talents. A touching and informative introduction by Tom and Enid Schantz tells how Bowers pursued—largely in vain—a literary career after leaving her beloved Oxford University while earning her living at largely tedious, minor teaching positions. But Postscript to Poison, published in 1938 to enthusiastic reviews (‘She ranks with the best,’ said the Times of London) should have, in a more perfect world, changed that. It’s a beautifully plotted, sharply written story of disappearing wills, quarreling heirs and a determined grandmother who used to be an actress and is now working to keep her late husband’s fortune from being wasted. It also introduces a police detective, Inspector Dan Pardoe, as smart and interesting as any ever created by Agatha Christie or Sayers herself.”
—Dick Adler, The Chicago Tribune

“Dorothy Bowers only wrote five mysteries; Postscript to Poison, which was published originally in 1938, was the first. The plot is fairly straightforward. Cornelia Lackland is a thoroughly unpleasant rich old woman with total control of her step-granddaughters’ estate. Illness and invalidism have loosened her hitherto iron-gripped hold on the household, which features a meek companion, the two granddaughters Carol and Jenny, and the obligatory servants. As might be expected, everyone is looking forward to her demise with some anticipation. When she dies unexpectedly, there are plenty of suspects to go around. The handsome Dr. Faithful thinks poison is at work and the police are called in. Scotland Yard Inspector Dan Pardoe arrives on the scene and sets about his investigation. All of the characters—and I do mean all of them—are wonderfully drawn. Pardoe is an intelligent, perceptive protagonist, who is neither so brilliant as to be off-putting nor so into the intricacies of the case as to lose sight of what’s important. Bowers doesn’t get mired down in overly complex plot points. Even the legal aspects of the story are delivered in a clear, understandable, and even entertaining fashion. The only thing that might perplex today’s reader is wondering why Carol and Jenny don’t just go out and get jobs. Postscript to Poison is so thoroughly a novel of its time, however, that this is not an insurmountable concept. A non-British reader may have some difficulty with some of the idiomatic expressions, but meanings can be derived from the context. There’s a beauty and simplicity to this book and others of its genre that contemporary writers would do well to mimic—a houseful of suspects, easily distinguishable and interesting characters, an intelligent detective, and all the clues the reader needs to solve the mystery. Rue Morgue Press is to be commended for its mission of reprinting these classic gems.”
—Michelle L. Zafron, Reviewing the Evidence

“For those who love the classic English murder mystery this is as good as it gets. With a wonderful sense of time and place, it also well-written and the characters are great. Highly recommended.”
—Martha Farrington, The Dead Beat, store newsletter of Houston’s Murder by the Book

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