Policemen in the Precinct

Policemen in the Precinct is a 1949 detective story by E.C.R. Lorac, the pen name of the British writer Edith Caroline Rivett.^[1][2] It was the thirty third entry in her long-running series featuring Chief Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard. It was published in the United States by Doubleday using the alternative title And Then Put Out the Light.^[3]

Policemen in the Precinct

First edition
Author	E.C.R. Lorac
Language	English
Series	Chief Inspector MacDonald
Genre	Detective
Publisher	Collins Crime Club (UK) Doubleday (US)
Publication date	1949
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print
Preceded by	Still Waters
Followed by	Accident by Design

Reviewing the novel in The Observer Maurice Richardson wrote "Tense throughout, this is Mr. Lorac’s best book and reminds us how much life—despite the claims of the tough school—there is in the old provincial English whodunnit yet."

Synopsis

In Paulborough, a Midlands market town dominated by its Norman abbey, a notorious local gossip is found dead after spreading gossip about prominent figures in the town.