Henry Wade – Carol's Notebook

Author: Henry Wade

Henry Wade (10 September 1887 – 30 May 1969) was the pen name of Major Sir Henry Lancelot Aubrey-Fletcher, CVO DSO, 6th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (1954 to 1961). Aubrey-Fletcher was the only son and second child of Sir Lancelot Aubrey-Fletcher, 5th Baronet, and Emily Harriet Wade. He was educated at Eton College and New College, Oxford, and fought in both the First World War and Second World War with the Grenadier Guards, and in 1917 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and French Croix de guerre. He married Mary Augusta Chilton in 1911 and they had five children. He was a member of Buckinghamshire County Council and was appointed High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1925. He played Minor counties cricket between 1921 and 1928 for Buckinghamshire. A noted mystery writer, his stories were published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and he was a founding member of the Detection Club.

The Dying Alderman is the first mystery I've read by Henry Wade; he's not a writer I'd heard of before, but it looks like most of his are out for Kindle now, so I'll probably pick up more. The Dying Alderman is a well-plotted mystery with characters who are nuanced and believable. There are three cops working the case, Race who is new to the job, Vorley who is steeped in local gossip and prejudices, and Lott, the outsider who can be a bit heavy-handed in his questioning of suspects. Each of the men brings something to the plate. My favorite was Race, but Lott's goading of Vorley is rather amusing at times. Lott and Vorley are focussed on two different suspects and each seems reasonable. Wade does a good job with the police procedural aspect, but doesn't leave us with the impression that police are perfect, instead we know some may have their own agendas that don't necessarily fit with finding the truth. The...