Overview

A quiet English village. A puzzling death. And a crime committed not by a hardened criminal-but by an amateur. In The Amateur Crime, Anthony Cox delivers a tightly constructed Golden Age mystery built on psychological tension rather than brute violence. When an apparently straightforward death raises troubling inconsistencies, suspicion begins to fall on ordinary people with hidden motives-and on the dangerous confidence of those who believe intellect alone makes them immune from consequences. Cox's novel explores the fragile boundary between cleverness and guilt, exposing how rational planning can unravel under pressure. As clues accumulate and assumptions collapse, the investigation reveals a crime shaped as much by vanity and misjudgment as by intent. Originally published during the classic era of British crime fiction, The Amateur Crime stands alongside the works of Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Crofts, and early psychological detective novels-where motive, logic, and character matter more than spectacle. This Impact Books edition restores a neglected but compelling mystery for modern readers who enjoy traditional whodunits, village crime, and intellectually driven suspense.

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Anthony Cox was a British novelist associated with the Golden Age of crime fiction, a period known for its emphasis on logic, motive, and carefully constructed plots. Writing during the interwar years, Cox explored the psychological dimensions of crime, often focusing on how intellect, pride, and miscalculation could prove as dangerous as malice.Though less widely remembered than some of his contemporaries, Cox's work reflects the era's fascination with amateur reasoning, moral ambiguity, and the thin line between cleverness and culpability. His novels reward attentive readers who appreciate traditional mysteries grounded in character and deduction rather than action.

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