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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A murder demands answers, but in London's drawing rooms, even the innocent may have secrets worth lying for.
In The Grell Mystery, Frank Froest places a killing among people with money, good addresses, and reputations to protect. The crime looks simple. The investigation is not. As Scotland Yard asks questions and checks accounts, the fear of exposure clouds the search for truth. What people hide may matter as much as what they say.
Froest brings experience as a senior Scotland Yard detective to this carefully plotted puzzle. Police work unfolds through visits, questions, and the patient comparison of claims. Clubs, drawing rooms, and police offices form a London where manners can conceal motives. Short scenes shift suspicion, inviting you to weigh each clue rather than rush past it.
What you’ll discover
- A deceptively simple crime Follow a murder inquiry that grows more difficult as apparently straightforward claims demand closer checking.
- Police work in detail Watch investigators question, visit, compare, and check their way through a case that resists easy answers.
- Reputations under pressure Enter a social world where fear of disgrace can make even innocent people conceal the truth.
- Suspicion on the move Weigh clues as short scenes change your sense of who deserves trust and who invites doubt.
- Edwardian London behind doors Move between clubs, drawing rooms, and police offices as respectable appearances come under scrutiny.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who enjoy clever police work, fingerprints and ciphers, London streets from Mayfair to Whitechapel, and a mystery where every suspect guards a secret.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A small request conceals a disappearance
- The victim is not Grell
- Grief turns suspicion toward Fairfield
- Small traces point toward Grave Street
- Secret messages become police bait
- The chase depends on shared action
- Silence reveals whom people protect
- Concealment does not always mean guilt
Who’s who
- Heldon FoyleSuperintendent of Scotland Yard's detective branch, calm, methodical and humorous, who wants to find the truth behind the Grosvenor Gardens murder.
- Robert GrellAn American explorer and millionaire, about to marry, who vanishes on the night of the murder and refuses to explain.
- Sir Ralph FairfieldGrell's loyal friend, a baronet and travel writer, caught between friendship, a hidden love for Eileen and the police.
- Lady Eileen MeredithThe Duke of Burghley's daughter, Grell's fiancée, fierce and impulsive, who will go to great lengths for the man she loves.
- Ivan AbramovitchGrell's Russian valet, strong and sullen, who disappears after the murder and fights to protect his master.
- Princess PetrovskaA glamorous widow once known as Lola Rachael, who has a shadowy past and moves between hotels, trains and disguises.
- Chief Inspector GreenFoyle's stolid, loyal lieutenant, who shadows suspects, fights with his fists and chases clues across London and Sussex.
- Sir Hilary ThorntonThe Assistant Commissioner, Foyle's chess-playing chief, who backs his superintendent but worries about the cost of a mistake.
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The Grell Mystery
by Frank Froest · 1913
A millionaire lies stabbed on his wedding eve, and Heldon Foyle finds the body is not the man everyone thinks.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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In short
It is half past nine on a wet night in London. Robert Grell, an American explorer and millionaire, shows his friend Sir Ralph Fairfield a case of blue leather.
The Grell Mystery at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 30 min5 h 10 min fast, 7 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 92,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1913by Frank Froest
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A bachelor's last night ends in murder
The story opens at the St. Jermyn's Club, where rain beats on the windows. Robert Grell is a man who wins every contest. He made his name in American politics and finance, then gave it up to live as a gentleman in England. Then he met Lady Eileen Meredith and fell for her gray eyes.
He dines with Sir Ralph Fairfield, who teases him about married life. Grell shows the pearls, and Fairfield warns him not to carry such a treasure loose in his pocket. Then Grell asks him to tell any caller that he is in the club. He gives no reason. He calls it a whim.
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Details
- First published
- 1913
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Froest, Frank. The Grell Mystery. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grell-mystery.
Froest, F. (2026). The Grell mystery. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grell-mystery (Original work published 1913)
Froest, Frank. The Grell Mystery. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grell-mystery.
@book{froest2026grell,
author = {Froest, Frank},
title = {The Grell Mystery},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-grell-mystery},
note = {First published 1913}
}
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What is The Grell Mystery about?
It follows Superintendent Heldon Foyle as he investigates the stabbing of a wealthy American, Robert Grell, on the eve of his wedding in London. The body raises questions, and the search takes him from Mayfair to Whitechapel, the Thames and the Sussex woods.
Who is Heldon Foyle?
Foyle is the chief of the Criminal Investigation Department at Scotland Yard. He is well dressed, calm and humorous, and he solves cases through organization, patience and sudden nerve rather than through flashes of genius.
What is the dagger with the sideways ivory hilt?
It is the weapon found in the dead man's heart, a short sheath knife with an ivory hilt set across the blade. Its fingerprints and its origin guide much of the investigation, and dealers trace it to South America.
The author
Frank Froest
1858–1930 · British detective novelist
Frank Froest (1858–1930) was a British police officer and writer who lived and worked in England. He served with the Metropolitan Police in London and became a superintendent at Scotland Yard. He also wrote crime novels in the early twentieth century, including The Grell Mystery.
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