The Strange Case of the Antlered Man by Edwy Searles Brooks

It is brimful of action, and moves at lightning speed to a logical conclusion. The Tale is concerned with the strange reappearance of a legendary 'antlered man' in an Essex village, and the eventual uncovering of a smugglers' plot. In Chief Detective-Inspector 'Bill' Beake, known as 'the Grouser,' and Detective-Sergeant Eustace Cavendish, he has invented a pair of sleuths who are refreshingly different from average detectives of fiction. The first story by a well-known popular short-story writer shows him as an author who can introduce a love interest into a detective story as an integral part of the plot, and who can write with never-failing humour. (Rewritten from UJ 2/1357 and Dixon Hawke Lib 366, Given the success of the Cromwell and Lister characters in the following years, it is ironic to consider that but for Brooks' differences with Harraps, they would not have existed as such. In fact, these were the Beeke and Cavendish characters (and some of the stories) given a new name for the new publisher. His relationship with Collins, however, was far more satisfactory and, building on the success of the Norman Conquest novels, he made an agreement with Collins to introduce a new character, Chief Inspector Bill 'Ironsides' Cromwell with his assistant, Sergeant Johnny Lister.

Beeke, together with his assistant, Sergeant Eustace Cavendish, made only two appearances before Brooks fell out with Harraps and transferred the characters to Detective Weekly. He negotiated with Harraps to publish a series of detective novels featuring the Scotland Yard detective Inspector 'Grouser' Beeke. With the decline of the story paper, Edwy Searles Brooks attempted to break into the hardback novel market.

The Strange Case of the Antlered Man by Edwy Searles Brooks