The Hammersmith Murders

David Frome

• Publisher: Rare Treasure Editions
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9798907971936
• Subtopic: Crime & Mystery Literature
• Index: Literature

The Hammersmith Murders is a classic mystery written by David Frome, first published in 1930 by the Doubleday Crime Club. It is a notable title in detective fiction history, recognized as a Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. This novel marks the very first appearance of the recurring sleuth duo: the robust Scotland Yard Inspector Humphrey Bull and his timid, mild-mannered amateur landlord, Mr. Evan Pinkerton. The story begins after midnight when the Commissioner of the C.I.D. receives a cryptic, anonymous note postmarked from Hammersmith stating: "A man is being murdered at 16 Caithness Road." When Inspector Humphrey Bull arrives at the address, he finds a man who has just died. While the official medical diagnosis attributes the death to tetanus, Bull uncovers a string of unsettling coincidences: 1) The dead man's father had recently been killed in a sudden bus accident. 2) One of the man's daughters happened to be present at both tragic deaths. As Bull digs deeper into the household, a complex wave of robberies and two additional murders break out. Fortunately, Bull is aided by his observant, cinema-loving landlord Mr. Pinkerton, whose humble demeanor allows him to slip unnoticed into ordinary circles and uncover dark truths. Together, they race against time to unmask the killer before they can execute a final, horrific plot.

Table of contents

• The Hammersmith Murders
• Chapter One, At Sixty Caithness Road
• Chapter Two, THE CAUSE OF DEATH
• Chapter Three, THE TWO SISTERS
• Chapter Four, OBITUARY UNDER “S”
• Chapter Five, TUBES WITH CULTURES
• Chapter Six, A FOREBIDDING IMAGE
• Chapter Seven, NOT AN ORDINARY BURGLARY
• Chapter Eight, SEEN THROUGH THE SLIT
• Chapter Nine, THE MOST DEADLY FACT OF ALL
• Chapter Ten, THE THING ALIVE WITH BACILLI
• Chapter Eleven, AN INTERESTING GENTLEMAN
• Chapter Twelve, NOT SO THOROUGHLY RANSACKED
• Chapter Thirteen, GOODNESS AND INNOCENCE?
• Chapter Fourteen, THE MAN OF THE THUMB PRINT
• Chapter Fifteen, MR. PINKERTON’S STORY
• Chapter Sixteen, THE ANONYMOUS NOTE
• Chapter Seventeen, THE THREE WOMEN
• Chapter Eighteen, A HOUSE OF TROUBLE
• Chapter Nineteen, THE DEAD SISTER
• Chapter Twenty, A DOOMED HOUSEHOLD
• Chapter Twenty-One, THE EMPTY CHAIR
• Chapter Twenty-Two, AT THE BANK
• Chapter Twenty-Three, THINGS YOUNGSTERS DON’T LIKE
• Chapter Twenty-Four, A TRIO OF LETHAL AGENTS
• Chapter Twenty-Five, THE BODY BY THE FENDER
• Chapter Twenty-Six, A DARK AND EVIL CASE
• Chapter Twenty-Seven, THE MYSTERIOUS MR. DUNN
• Chapter Twenty-Eight, HIS HEART SICK WITH FEAR
• Chapter Twenty-Nine, UNDER THE TREES
• Chapter Thirty, A RELUCTANT ADMISSION
• Chapter Thirty-One, THE SUMMING UP