Checkmate to Murder

Checkmate to Murder is a 1944 detective novel by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett.^[1] It was the twenty fifth in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard.^[2] Originally published by Collins Crime Club, it was reissued in 2020 by the British Library Publishing as part of a group of crime novels from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

Checkmate to Murder

First edition
Author	E.C.R. Lorac
Cover artist	J.Z. Atkinson
Language	English
Series	Chief Inspector MacDonald
Genre	Detective
Publisher	Collins Crime Club Arcadia House (US)
Publication date	1944
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print
Preceded by	Fell Murder
Followed by	Murder by Matchlight

Synopsis

On a foggy night during the London Blitz, a special constable arrests a young Canadian soldier standing over the dead body of his elderly great uncle in a rundown house in Hampstead. The only other possible suspects are the inhabitants of the art studio next door, a celebrated painter, his sister and their various guests. However as MacDonald and his assistant Inspector Reeves begin to investigate a number of other possible suspects and motives emerge, including the special constable himself.