Fire, Burn
by John Dickson Carr
SNT 1963-04-27
39.4Mb RAR @ 64K (Good Clarity)
"London was wrapped in fog when Inspector John Cheviot got into a twentieth century taxi. The city was still fogbound when he got out - but the cab was a hackney coach, the year was 1829 [when the London police were first formed], and murder was a safe and profitable business. There were things Cheviot remembered but couldn't use - like how to analyze fingerprints; and things he didn't know that he could have used - like how advanced his romance with the luscious Lady Flora really was. And there wasn't time to learn, because Cheviot suddenly found himself pitted against the cleverest murderer of his career."
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here's the rest of the SNT blurb:
It's a meld of mystery with touches of supernatural or sci-fi, as Scotland Yard officer John Cheviot stepped into a cab in 1957 and stepped out in 1829, stunned and bewildered. We're never told how or why he traveled back in time, or even if it's really happening or some sort of hallucination. It just happens.
Everyone recognizes Cheviot, even his lady-love, so he plays along, feigning a sudden illness sometimes to cover up his lapses in knowledge. Luckily, he's an amateur historian so he understands the Regency and its mores, which gives him an occasional advantage.
He ends up investigating some historical crimes using future knowledge and techniques. It starts off with a noblewoman complaining of stolen birdseed, but then leads into a full-throttle murder investigation when a woman is shot to death in front of a group of people, but no one had a gun nor can one be found that actually fired the bullet.
In between there's romance, ruminations on the period, duels, confrontations, and all sorts of fun.
Thanks for sharing.