J. J. Connington

Born in Glasgow in 1880, Alfred Walter Stewart wrote detective fiction under the pen name J. J. Connington. Alongside his literary work, he had a substantial scientific career as a British chemist, which helps explain the precise, methodical feel of many of his novels.

Between the 1920s and 1940s, he published a long run of mysteries, including the Sir Clinton Driffield books, which became his best-known series. He is also noted for an early science-fiction novel as well as for his crime fiction, giving his work an interesting place between scientific imagination and classic puzzle plotting.

He died in 1947. For listeners who like traditional detective stories with careful clues, logical investigation, and a distinctly British Golden Age atmosphere, his books still have plenty of appeal.