Something Nasty in the Woodshed

Something Nasty in the Woodshed

First edition
Author	Anthony Gilbert
Language	English
Series	Arthur Crook
Genre	Mystery thriller
Publisher	Collins Crime Club (UK) Smith and Durrell (US)
Publication date	1942
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print
Preceded by	The Woman in Red
Followed by	Death in the Blackout

Something Nasty in the Woodshed is a 1942 mystery detective novel by Anthony Gilbert, the pen name of British writer Lucy Beatrice Malleson. It is the tenth in her long-running series featuring the unscrupulous London solicitor and detective Arthur Crook.[1] In 1942 it was published in America under the alternative title Mystery in the Woodshed.[2]

The novel was adapted by actor Dennis Hoey into a play named The Haven. With Melville Cooper playing the lead role it opened on Broadway in November 1946, but closed after five performances following poor reviews.[3]

Synopsis

Agatha Forbes answers an advertisement through a matrimonial agency from a man seeking a woman of independent means. However once living with her charming new husband at his isolated cottage, he increasingly seems sinister and even Bluebeard-like.

References

1. Murphy p.120
2. Reilly p.659
3. Lachman p.46

Bibliography

• Lachman, Marvin. The Villainous Stage: Crime Plays on Broadway and in the West End. McFarland, 2014.
• Magill, Frank Northen . Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction: Authors, Volume 2. Salem Press, 1988.
• Murphy, Bruce F. The Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery. Springer, 1999.
• Reilly, John M. Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers. Springer, 2015.