Death of an Airman

Starred review from July 1, 2015
Part of the ongoing effort by the British Library to reissue forgotten but deserving mysteries from the Golden Age of crime fiction, the publication of this novel brings back a crime story first published in 1935. According to the introduction, Dorothy L. Sayers, then the crime reviewer for the Times of London, said that this novel bubbles over with zest and vitality in describing the exceedingly odd goings-on at a rather oddly managed Aero Club. Much of that vitality comes from Sprigg's descriptions of the daredevil flying tactics, complete with gasp-inducing climbs, spins, dives, and last-second pull-outs, of the dashing amateurs who practice and perform in the English countryside surrounding the Baston Aero Club. The unlikely detective here is a bishop from the region of Cootamundra in Australia, who signs up to take flying lessons so he can minister to far-flung believers. His view from the cockpit during lessons is both humorous and hair-raising. The bishop also witnesses the crash of a plane helmed by a top-flight pilot. The bishop's conviction that the pilot's death came after the crash, the result of murder by someone who got to the downed pilot before help could arrive, triggers an investigation into the intricate workings of the Aero Club. First-rate mystery and an engrossing view into a vanished world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)