# Mr. Kilsip — The Mystery of a Hansom Cab character guide

> Mr. Kilsip in The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Kilsip, Meanwhile Kilsip

**First appearance:** 0001-the-mystery-of-a-hansom-cab

## Snapshot

A sharp-eyed Melbourne detective whose quiet methods and encyclopedic knowledge of the city's underworld make him a quiet rival to the flashier Gorby.

## Who they are

Kilsip works the hansom cab murder from the police side, pitting his intimate knowledge of Melbourne's low life against the more theatrical methods of his colleague Gorby. Where Gorby blusters and theorizes, Kilsip watches, waits, and remembers faces from the slums that respectable men would rather forget. His patient intelligence matters because the case's solution lies buried in the city's poorest quarters, and only a detective who moves easily between drawing rooms and back alleys can dig it out.

## In the story

### [XIV: Another Richmond in the Field](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xiv-another-richmond-in-the-field)

Kilsip agrees to help Calton, motivated by rivalry with Gorby, and deduces the link to the burglary at Talbot Villa.

### [A Woman of the People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xv-a-woman-of-the-people)

Leads Calton through the dark lanes and into Mother Guttersnipe's room, questioning her about a woman who died there weeks ago.

### [Missing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xvi-missing)

Investigates Sal Rawlins' disappearance; discovers her brief stint in the Salvation Army and her flight to Sydney; reports Whyte's visits to the 'Queen'.

### [Sal Rawlins Tells All She Knows](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xviii-sal-rawlins-tells-all-she-knows)

Accompanies Calton to Mother Guttersnipe's and explains how Sal was ill in the country.

### [XXVI: Kilsip Has a Theory of His Own](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxvi-kilsip-has-a-theory-of-his-own)

Presents his theory that Roger Moreland murdered Whyte and plans to search the Fitzroy Gardens for the coat.

### [Mother Guttersnipe Joins the Majority](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxvii-mother-guttersnipe-joins-the-majority)

Accompanies Calton to Mother Guttersnipe's den and arranges for a doctor.

### [XXXII: De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxxii-de-mortuis-nil-nisi-bonum)

Brings evidence of Whyte's coat and chloroform bottle; insists Moreland is the murderer.

### [The Hands of Justice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-hands-of-justice)

Confident detective who obtained the warrant and handcuffs; orchestrates the arrest and gloats over Gorby.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters/kilsip
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_mystery_of_a_hansom_cab_se/characters