[1] It is the sixth in his series of seventeen novels featuring the Golden Age Detective Chief Constable Sir Clinton Driffield.
Two years earlier with Nemesis at Raynham Parva had effectively seemed to have retired his lead character, in a style similar to Arthur Conan Doyle attempt to conclude the Sherlock Holmes series in The Final Problem.
An attempt to replace Sir Clinton with a new lead character, Superintendent Ross in two novels had been less successful and he returned as Chief Constable.
[4] The Boathouse Riddle received a positive review in A Catalogue of Crime by Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor.
But the murder of a gamekeeper on the adjacent estate provides a series of puzzles that intrigue Sir Clinton who directs the local police force in their investigation.