Unsure what reading mood I was in, I decided to pick up a Bellairs mystery, as they tend to be reliable, undemanding reads. Last year I reviewed Half-Mast for the Deemster (1953), which is set on the Isle of Man, and whilst today’s read is not located there, the book is dedicated to a deemster (a.k.a. an Isle of Man judge) Bellairs knew called James Arthur Cain.
Synopsis
‘When a doctor is found murdered in a secret room of his mansion, a Scotland Yard detective uncovers a host of deadly secrets in this classic mystery. As the last stronghold of snobbery in the dying little city of Caldicott, Upper Square is home to the last remnants of old family dynasties. Doctor Beharrell, a prominent physician, is found murdered in a secret room in his home there. And Superintendent Littlejohn is already on the case—because someone warned him of the crime before it was discovered. Before he solves the case, Littlejohn must bring to light the strange history of the upper ten of Caldicott: a twisting tale of repressions, inbreeding, hatred, and madness. Littlejohn, whom David Holloway, of the News Chronicle, called “the most courteous of all fictional detectives,” finds all his good manners are needed to navigate this rarified world of eccentric characters.’
Overall Thoughts
I want to start off this review by picking everyone’s brains. The story starts with Superintendent Littlejohn receiving an anonymous tipoff that there is a body to be found in Caldicott. Is the message writer the killer, wanting to taunt the police? Are they a witness who is awkwardly compromised and therefore unable to give the information openly? It is a trope which opens several possibilities, and at the time I was like: “I wonder what off classic crime novels have used this same device?” I was sure I would find some with a few clicks and taps of the keyboard, but I have to admit I have drawn a blank. I know they must be out there. I am sure I have read some. But their names elude me, so if you know of any books with this trope, then do put me out of my misery!
The opening scene displays Bellairs’ experienced hand in writing gentle comedy, as we see a chain of police officers communicating with each other, beginning with Scotland Yard ringing the Chief Constable for the Caldicott area, who in turn telephones his subordinate… You get the idea. Results are wanted regarding this case, but the request becomes ruder the further down the line it gets, with Sergeant Plumtree and Constable Hubbard, getting the brunt of it. It is they who have the challenge of finding this body:
“Let’s get cracking then. Although what we’re goin’ to do about it beats me. We can’t very well go round all the shops and houses and ask ‘Has there been a murder ‘ere lately?’ And we can’t start diggin’ for bodies, because we’ve no bloomin’ idea where to dig or who to dig for. All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open and hope…”
The way Hubbard’s response is described, definitely raised a smile:
‘Hubbard, who, according to his colleagues, had only two speeds, damned slow and stop, turned and left without another word.’
You can anticipate, a little, the discovery of Doctor Beharrell’s body, but there are still some interesting aspects to it. It is not every day that you find a corpse in a secret passage, which leads to a strong room. Then again not many people live in buildings which used to be banks. It looks like the strong room (a legacy of the bank which has been defuncted for a long time) has been forced open, but was there anything worth stealing? Seemingly they might have been as on three occasions in the last decade Doctor Beharrell had to ward off burglars and ever since his wife left him for another man, he has been reluctant to leave his house overnight or for long periods.
This is the kind of mystery in which the backstory to the crime is easily figured out and equally revealed nearly in full before the 50% mark. I was curious if this was going to be an exceptionally simple case to solve or whether this early reveal was part of a red herring. On that score I would yes and no. The backstory doesn’t really modify much over the rest of the narrative, although there is a padded-out confirmation scene 75% of the way in. However, the tricky part is figuring out exactly what happened in the present and here Bellairs does offer several reasonable red herring suspects. There are arguably too many false leads in this mystery, making the wrap-up scene long and in turn this dampened the pacing of the piece. I am not sure how satisfying I found the choice of killer is, but I did think the motive was interesting.
In some of my recent(ish) reviews I have commented on books ending awkwardly due to misplaced humour. However, that is not the case here, as it felt appropriate and it is centred on Sergeant Plumtree, whose comic role is already set up previously in the story, when his wife fails to stay awake during his recital of the day’s events:
‘Plumtree’s eyes stood out like organ stops. He’d never seen anything like this before. the trouble was, that when poor Plumtree told his wife in bed that night, including many dramatic incidents in which he figured and scenes which he dominated, she fell asleep half way through, and he didn’t discover it until he’d got to the end and was waiting for her applause.’
It’s tough being a policeman…
Rating: 4/5