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This page lists novels and short story collections that feature the British police detective Inspector John Poole.

Cover images are, when possible, of the first edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

The Duke of York’s Steps

Henry Wade

1929

An Inspector Poole novel.

"A wealthy banker, Sir Garth Fratten, dies suddenly from an aneurysm on the Duke of York's Steps. His doctor is satisfied that a mild shock such as being jostled would be enough to cause Sir Garth's death. It all seems so straightforward, and there is no inquest. But Fratten's daughter Inez is not satisfied. She places an advertisement in the London newspapers that comes to the attention of Scotland Yard, and Inspector John Poole is assigned to make enquiries. Poole's investigation leads him into a world of high finance where things are not as they seem; a sordid world in which rich young men make fools of themselves over chorus girls."

No Friendly Drop

Henry Wade

1931

An Inspector Poole novel.

"At first it seems that Lord Henry Grayle has taken an overdose of sleeping medicine, but the autopsy reveals a tiny amount of scopolamine along with the draught - harmless in itself, but fatal when mixed . . . A poisoner with apparently expert knowledge is at work in the great house at Tassart. But from what motive, and how? Before he can find an answer to these questions, Detective Inspector John Poole is faced with a second, more horrible murder. And when there are shocking revelations both above and below stairs, Poole starts to see light breaking on the horizon."

Policeman's Lot

Henry Wade

1933

Includes seven Inspector Poole stories.

"A baker's dozen of stories from the Golden Age master of the police procedural: seven from the casebook of Detective Inspector John Poole and six miscellaneous narratives of crime and detection, all of them displaying the scientific ingenuity which distinguishes Wade's work."

• Duello
• The Missing Undergraduate
• Wind in the East
• The Sub-Branch
• The Real Thing
• The Baronet's Finger
• The Three Keys
• A Matter of Luck
• Four to One - Bar One
• Payment in Full
• Jealous Gun
• The Amateurs
• The Tenth Round

Constable Guard Thyself

Henry Wade

1934

An Inspector Poole novel.

"Two threats from a newly released convict - a poacher framed on a murder charge - put Captain Scole, Chief Constable of Brodshire, on his guard. Special men are assigned to protect him. But four days later, Captain Scole is found shot through the head at his desk in Police Headquarters. A full week later, young Inspector Poole of Scotland Yard is called in to follow a cold trail in the face of open hostility from the local police. And the further he explores the murder, the more baffling it becomes. Could Scole's First World War past be catching up with him - or something much closer to home?"

Bury Him Darkly

Henry Wade

1936

An Inspector Poole novel.

"The night watchman at Hallams, the long-established Bond Street jewellers, is found dead with his head battered in, and a number of display cases have been rifled. Chief Inspector Burr picks up the trail, with the young Inspector Poole as his assistant. But before long, the crime at Hallams is overshadowed by a mystery which stirs Scotland Yard into a frenzy of activity. Even the great Superintendent Fraser is aroused from his customary Olympian calm; but it is the detailed work of young Poole which eventually solves the double problem, links mystery to mystery and brings the clear light of day."

The Lonely Magdalen

Henry Wade

1940

An Inspector Poole novel.

"The body of a strangled prostitute on Hampstead Heath seems to present a hopeless case for detectives with a lack of evidence, several contradictory witnesses and little information. But with ingenuity and tireless patience, Inspector Poole finds out that the women was not always a low-grade prostitute but had sunk from hopeless poverty to a very different life. We learn the story behind the lonely Magdalen and why she came to grief."

Too Soon to Die

Henry Wade

1953

An Inspector Poole novel.

"Colonel Jerrod has just six months to live, but he needs a year if he is to save Brackton, the family estate, from crippling death duties. Then his ambitious son, Grant, has an idea, one that involves Colonel Jerrod's carefree brother, Philip, and which develops into a complicated fraud that, he hopes, will safeguard Brackton for future generations. But there is a boating accident, in which Colonel Jerrod is believed drowned, and a visit at Brackton from the Inland Revenue to clear up some routine questions . . . Before long, Chief Inspector Poole finds himself drawn into the investigation with questions of his own."

Gold Was Our Grave

Henry Wade

1954

An Inspector Poole novel.

"Hector Berrenton returns home from hospital after a serious car accident to find a terse note: San Podino. This is yours. Fallon next. Suspecting Berrenton's car has been tampered with, the North Sussex Police call in Scotland Yard. Chief Inspector John Poole, put in charge of the investigation, quickly discovers that three years earlier Berrenton and his partner, Jocelyn Fallon, had been on trial accused of fraud. The crime they were accused of was in connection with a Bolivian goldmine, San Podino, and though the two men were acquitted, a number of investors suffered considerable financial loss. Soon Inspector Poole is dealing with attempted murder."