"The Bells of Old Bailey"

"When will you pay me/Say the bells of Old Bailey"

Sound familiar? It's a couplet from a familiar English nursery rhyme, one that names the bells of London. That nursery rhyme is woven through a marvelous, if rather grim, mystery, "The Bells of Old Bailey," by Dorothy Bowers. In a small English village, where five people apparently have committed suicide, the local police turn to a Scotland Yard detective for help. Soon, there is a murder to be solved, and a truly vicious plot eventually is uncovered.

Dorothy Bowers is little remembered today; she died quite young and completed only a handful of novels. Part of the fun of doing my "Classic Mysteries" podcast is having the chance to introduce authors like Dorothy Bowers to readers who might enjoy her work. You can check out this review here - and, as always, I would welcome your subscription to these free weekly podcasts by pasting this RSS link - http://classicmysteries.podbus.com/index.xml - into iTunes or any other RSS podcast-capable program.