Murder most sporting

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery

by Leonard Gribble

This was published in 1939, right at the end of what is considered the ‘golden age’ of crime writing (i.e. between the two world wars) and is a great example of what makes this period of crime writing great!

I know virtually nothing about football (of any form; soccer, rugby, ‘American’) but I loved this book!  It is a great little story bringing together a puzzling and audacious murder carried out in the direct view of a stadium full of football fans.  Who could have done it, why would they do it and how did they get away with it?

The logic to the puzzle is well constructed and covers many facets and a love triangle or two, not to mention a couple of clever red herrings.  This is all set in a real location and involving the genuine Arsenal team of 1939 – the original publication came with a facsimile of the players’ autographs and this is repeated in the newly republished British Library Crime Classics edition.  Of course, none of the real players is ever considered to have been the murderer but this is a genuine piece of fan fiction.

This is exactly why I love this period of crime writing – a book like this would never be published today.  If it were written at all, it may be relegated to unofficial ‘fan fiction’ but it would never be published by the Premier League of publishers.  And even if it were, it would have to be sponsored and endorsed by the team’s official sponsors and owners.  The book would also have to be renamed the Emirates Stadium Mystery, which would make little sense and I can’t imagine Emirates approving the mode, method or location of the murder!

Did I really just write that?...

So get your boots on and score with this book – there will be no penalty but you might need to go into extra time to finish it.