The Case of the Missing Tin Opener by John James Mark

Title: The Case of the Missing Tin Opener

Author: John James Mark

Publisher: Not known 

Source book: The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (Inspector Grant #5)

We never learn anything about the plot of this detective story but apparently there are three errors of procedure in the first two pages, and Inspector Alan Grant, thoroughly fed up with having nothing to do but lie flat on his back in a hospital bed, spends a pleasant five minutes composing a letter of complaint to the author.

It’s one of the books given to Grant by kind friends to relieve the tedium. And a book we feel he will never read as he gets sucked in to his investigation of whether or not Richard III was responsible for the murder of the princes in the Tower. 

In 1990 The Daughter of Time was voted number one in the Top Crime Novels of All Time (it’s an interesting list, and if you ask me, not in a good way) by the British Crime Writers’ Association. Even the Mystery Writers of America voted it number four in the Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time. No wonder Inspector Grant didn’t want to read such a generic-sounding detective novel. 

You can find the Case of the Missing.... carrot cake, perpetrator, smile, auntie, servant, boyfriend, treasure, moonstone, marquess, all sorts.. books. It has a bit of an Enid Blyton ring to it. The Case of the Missing Secret Island of Adventure perhaps? I think John James Mark could probably have done better with his choice of title.

In these exciting modern times, tins of beans or soup seem to come with a ring pull. I must say I find it easier to use my tin opener (can opener) because I find that pulling the ring encourages soup or sauce to splurge out of the tin. Usually on to a clean skirt. I have a special tin opener designed for left handed people. I never learned to use the regular design. The Chef, also left handed, can’t use my opener to save his life and often throws a tantrum if he needs to open a tin without a ring pull. You should have seen what happened last week when he couldn’t get the pepper grinder to work.

Images borrowed from the internet