John Rhode

Cecil John Charles Street (1884–1964), writing as John Rhode, was a prolific English author of detective novels, best known for his series featuring Dr. Lancelot Priestley. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Street served in the Royal Artillery and later as a military intelligence officer during World War I. After the war, he turned to writing, producing his first Priestley novel, The Paddington Mystery, in 1925. Over the next four decades, Rhode published more than 70 novels, including The Murders in Praed Street (1928), which exemplifies his trademark focus on intricate alibis, timetables, and scientific deduction. His work was praised by contemporaries like Dorothy L. Sayers for its logical rigor. Rhode also wrote non-fiction on military history and served as a book reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement. His legacy endures as a master of the "fair play" golden age detective story.