Death in the Hopfields

Death in the Hopfields is a 1937 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street.^[1] It is the 25th in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective. It was published in America by Dodd Mead under the alternative title The Harvest Murder.^[2]

Death in the Hopfields

First edition
Author	John Rhode
Language	English
Series	Lancelot Priestley
Genre	Detective
Publisher	Collins (UK) Dodd Mead (US)
Publication date	1937
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print
Preceded by	In Face of the Verdict
Followed by	Death on the Board

Caldwell Harpur gave the novel a broadly positive review in the Times Literary Supplement but felt that the murder mystery was so simple that there had really been no need for the local police to need assistance to crack the case.^{[citation needed]}

Synopsis

The novel takes place in rural Kent during the hop-picking season. A burglary takes place and the complex circumstances surrounding it led to Sergeant Wragge of the local force calling in Scotland Yard. It is only through the deductions of Priestley, however, that it is realised that his is a case of murder.