Mystery and Crime Knox, Monsignor Ronald: The Three Taps, v.1, 5 August 2008.

[Patricia]

Monsignor Ronald Knox (1888-1957)
The Three Taps: A detective story without a moral (1927)

A classic Golden Age detective story. A man has been found dead in a gas-lit country inn. Is it suicide or murder?

From http://www.ronaldknoxsociety.com/enthus.html
“Ronald Knox wrote six detective stories of his own: THE VIADUCT MURDER (1926), THE THREE TAPS (1927), THE FOOTSTEPS AT THE LOCK (1928), THE BODY IN THE SILO (1933), STILL DEAD (1934) and DOUBLE CROSS PURPOSES (1937). He wrote them to supplement the meagre stipend of his Oxford Chaplaincy. Still, he took them seriously, as he did all his work. Most of these stories feature private detective Miles Bredon, employed by the Indescribable Insurance Company to investigate suspicious claims, and his wife, Angela. While Bredon never enchanted millions as did Holmes, Lord Peter, Fr.Brown or Poirot, he and his wife make a delightful couple who excel at playful repartee. Knox's stories also boast charming descriptions of locale; there are many riverbank scenes of much interest to the fisherman! Characteristically his plots are mathematical, rather like Times crossword puzzles. And there is his well-known wit to keep the reader amused. Murder, after all, should be charming!”