Cecil John Street aka John Street aka John Rhode aka Miles Burton aka Cecil Waye was one of the most prolific authors from the Golden Age of detective fiction – over 70 under the pseudonym John Rhode featuring the scientific detections of Dr Lancelot Priestley (although he is called Launcelot in The Motor Rally Mystery) and over 60 featuring amateur sleuth Desmond Merrion under the pseudonym Miles Burton.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, his work is extremely hard to come by – rarely reprinted, and yet in high demand. I’ve managed to procure a large number of his works. The index below is not a bibliography, but a list of the titles that I own and links to the reviews of the books that I’ve read. The italicised ones are books that I’ve got using the somewhat dodgy Internet Archive editions. There may be more to follow, depending on my eBay prowess. If you own anything not on the list and feel like selling it for not-too-much money, then do get in touch – I really don’t care about the condition or the edition, I just want to read the things…
Some hope has appeared recently for the non-obsessive collector – the British Library have re-issued The Secret Of High Eldersham and Death In The Tunnel and while there is little sign of more of the Miles Burton titles appearing in this range, the Collins Crime Club have re-released The Paddington Mystery, Mystery At Olympia, Death At Breakfast and Invisible Weapons – not his finest work, perhaps, but two good titles and one very good one there (check the reviews to see which one is which). I am given to believe that more might be on the way…
John Rhode
- The Paddington Mystery (1925)
- Dr Priestley’s Quest (1926)
- The Ellerby Case (1927)
- The Murders In Praed Street (1928)
- Tragedy At The Unicorn (1929)
- The House On Tollard Ridge (1929)
- The Davidson Case (1929)
- Peril At Cranbury Hall (1930)
- Pinehurst (1930)
- Tragedy On The Line (1931)
- The Hanging Woman (1931)
- Mystery At Greycombe Farm (1932)
- The Motor Rally Mystery (1933)
- The Claverton Mystery (1933)
- The Venner Crime (1933)
- Poison For One (1934)
- The Robthorne Mystery (1934)
- Shot At Dawn (1934)
- The Corpse In The Car (1935)
- Mystery At Olympia (1935)
- Death At Breakfast (1936)
- In Face Of The Verdict (1936)
- Death In The Hop Fields (1937)
- Death On The Board (1937)
- Proceed With Caution (1937)
- Invisible Weapons (1938)
- The Bloody Tower (1938)
- Death On Sunday (1939)
- Death On The Boat-Train (1940)
- The Fourth Bomb (1942)
- Dead On The Track (1943)
- Men Die At Cyprus Lodge (1943)
- Vegetable Duck (1944)
- Bricklayer’s Arms (1945)
- The Lake House (1946)
- Death In Harley Street (1946)
- Nothing But The Truth (1947)
- Death Of An Author (1947)
- The Telephone Call (1949)
- Blackthorn House (1949)
- Family Affairs (1950)
- Dr Goodwood’s Locum (1951)
- Death At The Dance (1952)
- Death In Wellington Road (1952)
- Death At The Inn (1953)
- By Registered Post (1953)
- Death On The Lawn (1954)
- Death Of A Godmother (1955)
- The Domestic Agency (1955)
- An Artist Dies (1956)
- Open Verdict (1956)
- Death Of A Bridegroom (1957)
- Robbery With Violence (1957)
- Death Takes A Partner (1958)
- Licensed For Murder (1958)
- Murder At Derivale (1958)
- Three Cousins Die (1959)
- The Fatal Pool (1960)
- The Vanishing Diary (1961)
John Rhode – Non-Series
Miles Burton
- The Secret Of High Eldersham (1930)
- The Milk Churn Murder (1935)
- Death In The Tunnel (1936)
- The Platinum Cat (1938)
- Death Leaves No Card (1939)
- Murder In The Coalhole (1940)
- Murder M.D. (1943)
- Four-Ply Yarn (1944)
- The Three Corpse Trick (1944)
- Early Morning Murder (1945)
- Situation Vacant (1946)
- Heir To Lucifer (1947)
- A Will In The Way (1947)
- Devil’s Reckoning (1948)
- Death In Shallow Water (1948)
- Death Takes The Living (1949)
- Look Alive (1949)
- Beware Your Neighbour (1951)
- Heir To Murder (1953)
- Death In A Duffle Coat (1956)
- Found Drowned (1956)
- The Chinese Puzzle (1957)
- Death Takes A Detour (1958)
- A Smell Of Smoke (1960)
- Death Paints A Picture (1960)
- Legacy Of Death (1960)
Here are a couple of posts that I’ve written about John Street’s work:
