March seems to be a good month for me picking off books which have sat on my TBR pile for a while. It has been nearly two years since I have read a mystery by Virginia Rath and pleasing today’s review is my fifth read by her and also the fifth story in her Rocky Allan series. The other four books I have reviewed by her are:
- The Murders at Hillside (1931)
- Death at Dayton’s Folly (1935) (My favourite Rath mystery to date)
- Murder on the Day of Judgement (1936)
- A Shroud for Rowena (1947)
Synopsis
‘This fifth case in the career of Rocky Allan, homespun sheriff who has found great favor both with readers and reviewers, opened one rainswept night when Rocky encountered a drenched stranger who asked him the way to Brookdale’s only hotel. The stranger, with a phony English accent, parted from Rocky with the cryptic sentence, “Has it occurred to you, Mr. Allan, that it’s an excellent night for murder?”
About noon the following day the stranger’s words were found to be prophetic when the man was discovered shot to death in his room at the hotel. The great surprise came when it was discovered that the stranger was in some way connected with the Graydons. As Rocky’s deputy exclaimed, “The Graydons—there’s got to be some mistake!” “Yeah, I know, the royal fam’ly of Brookdale. Sanctified and sacred,” Rocky drawled. “But just why it’s got to be a mistake is somethin’ you’ll have to explain to me; carefully, and in words of one syllable.”
He found the Graydon clan close-mouthed, deceptive, and obviously eager to cover up their relationship with the murdered man. Despite their reluctance to have anything to do with the truth, Rocky’s investigation was able to reveal a completely unexpected murderer.’
Overall Thoughts
The mystery has a strong opening, beginning on a stormy night, which has led to a power cut in rural Brookdale. Rocky Allen meets a man, well hears him more than sees him, named Walter Cooper. Having directed him to the nearest hotel, Rocky and the reader are left with Walter’s curious parting words:“Has it occurred to you, Mr. Allan, that it’s an excellent night for murder?” And yes, as the reader you just know that Walter is not going to be alive by morning… It’s nearly as bad as ending a full-blown argument with your family with the death-hastening words: “I’m going to change my will tomorrow!”
I am not sure if I have encountered Rocky’s deputy before, Andy Duncan, but I enjoyed this presence in this book, as he provides a gentle source of humour and a sleuthing contrast to Rocky:
‘What made him useful to Rocky was the fact that he’d always been an enthusiastic amateur detective. At sixteen Andy learned how to “be a detective, by mail, in ten lessons”, and began to study fingerprinting, criminal psychology and toxicology. With a small camera he produced extraordinary photographs. He could type, achieve an erratic sort of shorthand, and was incredibly neat with official documents and correspondence. Rocky was not […]’
It seems that ‘Andy’s academic ideas regarding murderers did slightly exasperate Rocky’ and I wondered if we were going to see some scenes involving conflicting sleuthing styles, a trope that is quite common in modern detective TV series. Looking on the book as a whole I think we get some small moments of difference of detecting opinion, but this is probably an underdeveloped aspect of the plot. Andy’s role in the investigation can be spasmodic. I was a little concerned that he might interfere in the course of justice as he fancies one of the suspects, but fortunately, this did not occur.
Another source of sleuthing information comes from Rocky’s wife Eleanor, who like Andy has a minor role in the elucidation of the mystery. Nevertheless, I enjoyed her contribution, and she provides Rath with some opportunities to have fun with her characters, such as when the trio discuss Christmas gifts:
“Honey, I’m goin’ to be real nice to you and wear those slippers you gave me Christmas –”
“If I can find them,” Eleanor said. “I put them away with the other gifts you never wear.”
“Well, Christmas ties are pretty bad, aren’t they?” Andy said. “I got one with yellow and purple stripes last year.”
“Then a man gave it to you. All my life I have heard of the loud ties women choose, but to my certain knowledge,” Eleanor said impressively, “no woman could possibly buy a more flamboyant tie for a man than he would pick out for himself.”
Would you agree with Eleanor, readers?
I also enjoyed Virginia Rath’s descriptions of more minor characters, such as Dr Bradley:
‘Whenever you heard noises like a small steam engine warming up for action you knew that Dr Bradley was approaching. Brookdale people said he was a fair-to-middling doctor when he was sober and a crackerjack when he had half-a-dozen drinks in him. he lumbered into the room, his ancient hat over one eye, vest proclaiming that he’d had gravy for dinner.’
I felt that you don’t just picture Dr Bradley physically, but you also get a sense of the energy he brings.
Despite the best efforts of the killer and others, it does not take Rocky long to realise that the last place the victim visited before the hotel, was the country home of the Graydon family. Andy is very much in awe of them, and he is sure such socially superior people could have nothing to do with the crime. Rocky and the reader are probably both chuckling at the innocent mind of Andy:
“Does this monogram mean anything to you now?” he said.
Andy’s jaw sagged. “Lucille Mary Graydon! Oh gosh, Rocky – there’s got to be some mistake! The Graydons –”
“Yeah, I know. The royal fam’ly of Brookdale. Sanctified an’ sacred,” Rocky drawled. “But just why it’s got to be a mistake is somethin’ you’ll have to explain to me: carefully and in words of one syllable.”
Handling the Graydon family is one of Rocky’s greatest challenges in this case, and their reluctance to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, adds an interesting obstacle to the investigation. Rath does a good job of depicting a family who is somewhat cut off from the surrounding area socially, and instead has become like a cramped greenhouse, in which they are forced to stay within their family for company.
Rocky, Eleanor and Andy are good at pooling information and Rocky is able to map out a timeline for the victim, as well as digging into the past of the Graydons. Nevertheless, Rocky is not a perfect detective, as he does some miss opportunities to access certain pieces of information sooner. Moreover, he has to pick up the sleuthing pace, as the killer is not done, as they are prepared to eliminate anyone who might know something. Rocky is not able to reach all these witnesses before they are bumped off.
The motive is well thought out and I think the steps Rocky takes to uncover it are satisfying. It does not feel like he has to jump to conclusions or make too great an imaginative leap. A trap is deployed at the end of the novel, but interestingly it did not pan out as I expected it to. Rath uses this trope in a different way which was good to see. However, I did feel like the killer could have mostly been anybody within the pool of suspects. The choice of culprit is surprising, but I am not sure if it is wholly satisfying, as I feel it relies on a largely concealed side to the murderer’s personality. I don’t think we spend enough time with the suspects to be able to properly pick up on this by ourselves.
I think the final stages of the case are drawn out, and some tightening was needed. The explanation of the crime went on too long and the reader did have to be told a lot of things at the end. So, for me the story started stronger than it finished.
Rating: 4/5