Book details
The man from the river
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Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 78883
- Title
- The man from the river
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
In a small English town, financial scandal and murder intertwine as a local accountant's embezzlement and a partner's drowning death trigger a web of suspicion. When the victim is found drowned, rumors of murder spread, forcing a detective and his friends to unravel a plot involving blackmail, premeditation, and a desperate lover's flight. A tale of gossip, hidden motives, and the dark side of small-town life.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
In *The Man from the River*, G. D. H. Cole and Margaret Cole weave a tale of mystery, social pressure, and hidden passions set in Colchester. The narrative follows Mark Warden, a junior partner at the firm Warden, Hanborough and Meston, who discovers his partners have been embezzling funds. The situation escalates dramatically when his partner, William Meston, is found drowned in the river. While the town speculates about suicide or murder, Warden and a Scotland Yard detective, Michael Wilson, investigate the circumstances. They uncover that Meston's death was a premeditated murder orchestrated by his brother-in-law, Godfrey Loring, to free his sister, Sylvia, from an unhappy marriage. The murder was staged to look like an accident using a silk rope and a pulley system. A local lawyer, Kershaw, witnessed the crime but was blackmailed into silence by Loring. The investigation reveals that the firm's financial troubles were a red herring, while the true motive was personal. The story explores themes of reputation, the dangers of gossip, and the lengths people go to protect their secrets. Ultimately, the detective solves the case, exposing the brother's guilt and the lawyer's complicity, though the primary criminal, Nick Hanborough, escapes justice. The novel blends mystery with social commentary on the pressures of respectability and the destructive nature of hidden passions.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78883.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg78883.epub - Downloaded at
- 2026-07-11 13:09 UTC
People
Authors
- G. D. H. Cole
- Margaret Cole
- G. D. H. Cole and Margaret Cole
Classification
Categories
No categories stored.