count for nothing against such a weight of human suffering. [Chapter VII] Crofts's Detective-Inspector Joseph French, who appears in several of his novels, keeps in the background during the action of The 12.30 from Croydon. He does solve the case, and explains how he did it in the final chapters of the novel, but the emphasis of the book is on the thoughts and deeds of the criminal. Related works Agatha Christie's Death in the Clouds (1935) is a whodunnit in which a murder is committed on a flight from Le Bourget to Croydon, with Poirot on board. Francis Iles's Malice Aforethought (1931) is an earlier experiment in psychological suspense fiction. Patricia Highsmith's This Sweet Sickness (1961) follows on his way to self-destruction a young murderer who is also driven by the prospect of gaining a beautiful lady in the end. The protagonist of Simon Brett's A Shock to the System (1984) is also a killer who is deluded into thinking that he can get away with murder. 1934 British novels Novels by Freeman Wills Crofts Novels set in Yorkshire Novels set in London Fiction set in 1933 Hodder & Stoughton books Novels set in hotels Croydon Airport