The Man in the Queue and the Gutenberg Project

The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey.
I can't remember how I heard about or  found this crime novel. It is written in 1929 under the pseudonym  Gordon Daviot and later Josephine Tey. In reality the authors name is  Elizabeth Mackintosh (1896-1952).
The series consists  of  6 books with Inspector Alan Grant as the main character, and this is number one in the series.

It is a very well written crime novel. There are  many lovely descriptions in a very rich language. I  have to look up some words in an old  dictionary, as many of the words is non existing in Google Translate., and not common day language. That only adds to the experience. It makes it slower to read than modern crime novels, but I enjoy the language immensely.

The story starts with a murder committed in a queue, where people are waiting to come in to see a  music-theater performance. Apparently nobody has seen the murderer, and nobody knows  the victim. The investigation begins, led by the sympathetic inspector Alan Grant. Gradually the mans name, occupation, friends and acquaintances comes to light, and the investigation takes us to Scotland and also Beachy Head. I won't reveal the ending, but it was surely a surprise.

I am quite sure I shall have to read the other books in the series  as well and probably also other books by the author.
It is fortunate that Australia has a special law of copyright. Authors do not have to apply for copyright. That comes automatically, but 50 years after the death of the author their works will be public domain. It has now been altered to 70 years (same as in Denmark) but in Australia not with retroactive effect. So books already in the Project Gutenberg Australia in 2005 stays Public Domain. That is why books by  Josephine Tey can be read on the site now - otherwise they would first have been available as free e-books  in 2026. You are probably not allowed to download them , but I assume it is ok to read them online. 📙💻☕
Project Gutenberg is an international initiative  offering free public domain books as e-books but especially in Project Gutenberg Australia you find a bit "newer" books.

With more than 3700 titles to choose from, it should be possible to find reading material.
On Project Gutenberg there are more than 56000 free e-books, some in Danish too.

Danish