So, the moment has finally arrived when I share which mysteries made it into my top 10. For the past four days I have been posting my long list of 40 titles, which just missed out on being within the all-important top 10. Here are the links below, in case you missed any:
The Best Mysteries of the 1940s: Part 1
The Best Mysteries of the 1940s: Part 2
The Best Mysteries of the 1940s: Part 3
The Best Mysteries of the 1940s: Part 4
It probably sounds silly, but I am almost dreading sharing my top ten list now, as I am worried it will be something of anti-climax as everyone looks at the list and thinks “How can that book beat that that one or this one?”
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
After all, there are some high calibre crime stories in my long list. But hopefully my top ten will include a book you love or maybe even contain a mystery or two for you to hunt down and read.
Anyways, without further ado, and in chronological order, let’s begin with the first book in my top 10…
Mystery No. 1: Five Little Pigs (1942) by Agatha Christie
I suspect this is my least surprising choice, as I am sure if my top ten had not included a Christie title, then I think fearing for my personal safety book group would have rushed to my house (as clearly the only sensible reason for omitting a Christie title would be because I was trying to subtly alert everyone to the fact that I was being held hostage!). Five Little Pigs is one of my all-time favourite Christie mysteries and I love how the personalities of the characters are paramount to the solving of the cold case and the way Poirot builds up the solution piece by piece. This solution is cleverly constructed, not using the clichéd footprints or cigarette ash, but with verbal clues and astute insight into human character. It is also a very poignant and powerful solution, which avoids conventional resolution and the killer in this book is probably one of Christie’s coldest.
This novel is a strong refutation of the still lingering idea that all traditional classic crime novels had cardboard thin characters, as in Five Little Pigs we see how much depth Christie gives her victims, witnesses and suspects. Stock characters such as the unfaithful spouse, the cheated-on wife, the other woman are all in this book, yet they all rise above their expected stereotypes and in their complexity Christie reveals how hard it can be to correctly read another person. This is especially borne out in how characters retrospectively perceive Caroline, with each person looking at her in a slightly or greatly different light, depending on their own personal biases. I enjoyed evaluating the evidence characters gave about Caroline, as the testimonies given are a mixture of truth, lies and assumptions, the latter often very distorting of what happened.
Mystery No. 2: Murder Among Friends (1942) by Lange Lewis
This story sees Kate Farr returning to the university she went to as a student, to work as a secretary, which means meeting some familiar faces and also a fresh corpse, her predecessor! Moreover, the unravelling of how and why Garnet Dillon died will require Kate to look at her social circle with greater scrutiny than she might want, and the truth she uncovers might be uglier than she anticipates.
One of the many things I enjoy about Lewis’ work is that like Charlotte Armstrong at her best, she is able to provide a puzzling mystery, along with great moments of tension and atmosphere. There is one brilliant scene, for instance, where Lange Lewis switches into a Hitchcock-like manner, moving from a moment of cosy romance to sickening horror of realisation. Yet because this is still a crime story with a puzzle to solve, this is not the end of the matter and Lewis enjoyably keeps you guessing right to the end on several points, such as whether this is a case of murder or suicide. I really felt the author was good at deploying ambiguity to enhance her mystery. The truth is clued but in such a way that you disregard the relevant information and all in all I felt we were given a satisfying and emotionally charged solution, which has ongoing consequences for the characters.
Mystery No. 3: A Case for Solomon (1943) by Bruce Graeme
This is the third book in the Theodore Terhune biblio-mystery series and for me it is the best, for several reasons. One of those reasons is its engaging premise, a man who was supposedly murdered many years ago, and whose killer was imprisoned at the time, has now been discovered, freshly murdered. So, who was the man who died all those years ago? And who would want to murder a man who was believed to be dead? As mentioned above this is a bibliomystery, as Terhune is a bookseller as well as an amateur sleuth and it is a poetry book near the corpse which as the blurb suggests, ‘puts Terhune on the trail of an unlikely murderer, in this entertaining blend of detective story and courtroom drama.’
This fusion of crime writing styles is executed very well in this story. Furthermore, what really makes this such a brilliant read is the final 70 pages of the book. They are full of intrigue, tension and surprises and this reader, at any rate, came away feeling very satisfied with the denouement. It had the zip of a twisty courtroom mystery and hues of pathos, which belie the human drama that has taken place. There is a definite hint of Berkeley about this book – but in a good way! I don’t think it is a solution I have encountered before. In addition, this novel impressed me because it showed that the central amateur sleuth did not need to be on every page and be involved in every aspect of the story to have full impact. Terhune was used in an effective manner, appearing when his presence was crucial, but then taking a back seat when his enforced inclusion would have ruined the perfect pitch the story was operating at without him.
Mystery No. 4: Dancing with Death (1947) by Joan Coggin
This is the final Lady Lupin mystery, and for me it has the best puzzle plot, which does not detract from the joys of the characters, in particular the amateur sleuth, who has matured since her debut case, but is still able to bring chaos and fun to the situation. This is a Christmas/New Year set detective story, which involves a festive house party. Nevertheless, its post-war setting is very much felt in this setup, particularly when reality cannot live up to the nostalgia-filled expectations of the guests and hosts alike. This helps to keep the mystery grounded and means the humour of the piece avoids being excessive or too artificial.
Mystery No. 5: The Unsuspected (1947) by Charlotte Armstrong
This story was included in my recommendation list for inverted mysteries, but it is too good a mystery to not include in this list also. Armstrong’s plotting, characters and ability to write suspense all deserve to be better recognised, and I wonder whether cover artwork from editions gone by have done her a disservice, with their tendency to include women in night dresses or oddly coloured garments.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
I think these covers have put some readers off from giving her work ago, as having read a number of her books, the plots are not romantic suspense ones, so why Berkeley kept promoting as such an author I do now know. However, I am really pleased that American Mystery Classics have reprinted this story (and The Chocolate Cobweb (1948)). If you love modern psychological suspense novels, then The Unsuspected is one I would strongly recommend trying. Innovation in this subgenre is not a new phenomenon, as Armstrong was experimenting with the form from the 1940s.
Armstrong’s experimentation with plotting works very well here, and successfully defies reader narrative expectations, offering something better in my opinion. It is uncommon to have the majority of the book be the end game of the mystery, yet Armstrong develops this type of narrative brilliantly. Her building up of a cat and mouse game is pitch perfect and her super villain is so duplicitous that he can commit murder before your eyes, and you don’t even realise it. A showdown is inevitable, but it has been a while since I have read one which was so nail-bitingly tense. The location for the penultimate scene is unusual, yet this only adds to the crescendo of suspense. I can see why this story was adapted for film in 1947 and I have to say it warranted a ‘blooming heck’ from me, a phrase I don’t often bestow on a book.
Mystery No. 6: Swan Song (1947) by Edmund Crispin
Mid-twentieth century psychological suspense fiction written by female authors is certainly one common theme within my favourite 1940s books, but so is comic crime. Consequently, it would have been criminal to have not included a Gervase Fen story and I feel Swan Song shows Crispin’s writing at its best. Similar to Christie and Christianna Brand, Crispin deftly includes many a clue in the opening scene, where they are likely to get overlooked amongst all the humour. At the top of his game, there is a promptness and concision to Crispin’s prose, which is balanced with how beautifully it is written. I can miss this when reading some modern mysteries, which tend to over-spell out what is going on. This is neither a dense nor a sparse mystery. Crispin’s narrative provides big brush strokes with carefully selected smaller details that linger in your mind afterwards. The narrative also lends itself to being adapted for TV, and it is a crying shame that Gervase Fen has not been properly adapted with his own series.
Mystery No. 7: The Iron Clew (1947) by Alice Tilton
Like Dancing with Death, The Iron Clew is another final book in a series. Yet, this being me, it was actually my first experience of Tilton’s Leonidas Witherall mysteries. I have written about Witherall in more detail here, but in short, he is just a character I love spending time with. Across his varied careers (bookshop janitor, teacher, school owner, and thriller author), chaos dogs his tail no matter what and I enjoy seeing him having to extricate himself from increasingly bizarre and complicated events. It’s like Tilton keeps feeding him one more ball to juggle, and I think the coherency of the plot is a testament to how well Tilton can unleash mayhem whilst still retaining control of her story. If you love comic crime, then this is a series you need to track down.
Mystery No. 8: Sudden Fear (1948) by Edna Sherry
With book number 8 we are back to psychological suspense and inverted mysteries, and this tale stands ahead of many other stories in the same field when it comes to cranking up the tension. Playwright Myra Hudson discovers that her husband and his lover (a gold digger Myra decided to use as a muse) are planning to murder her, for her wealth. Does she go to the police? Of course not! She is too proud. Instead, she decides to play them at their own game and create a murder plot of her own. But who win out? This question is electrified in Sherry’s hands, whose story has so many stings (you’d think you’ve landed in a nettle patch), and I think it can be classified as on-the-floor-reading, as you will have already fallen off the edge of your seat, the tension is so high. This cat-and-mouse variant of the inverted mystery is executed wonderfully here. Stark House Press reprinted this a few years ago, and it is another you-must-buy-it-now read.
Mystery No. 9: So Bad a Death (1949) by June Wright
This remains my favourite read by this Australian author, and I am so glad that Verse Chorus Press have reprinted all of Wright’s novels, as otherwise I doubt I would have had the opportunity to read them. There is such depth to Wright’s writing, and I enjoyed the humorous moments in the narrative. Maggie is a brilliant central character, who is a young mother and an amateur sleuth. She is smart and sarcastic, but also genuine and sincere. The murder of rich local patriarch is built up to well, with an increasing sense of doom and tension. The mystery in this book is complex with many strands to it. There is more than the central murder, and in terms of murder methods Wright is unique – though for reasons of spoilers I can’t elaborate on this. The motivations behind the crime is intricate, yet all the odd events of the plot fit together in the final solution. Characterisation which is paramount for me is superb in this book with Wright giving great individuality to everyone and I liked how she played around with character types and also how characters who initially appeared to be one thing then turn out to something far more complex and different later on.
Mystery No. 10: Murder Begins at Home (1949) by Delano Ames
Regular veteran readers will know how much I love Ames’ Jane and Dagobert series, so it should not be too shocking that one of these books made it on to the list. The fact there were not loads more, is because the majority were written in the 1950s.
Murder Begins at Home (1949) is the second book in the series, which is set on an American road trip for the husband and wife sleuthing team and it is the only story to not take place in Europe. There are quite a few married couples who sleuth in crime fiction, but Jane and Dagobert are one of my favourites, and I love how Ames depicts, for humour, the frictions and complications of married life. The psychological depth of the characters in this tale fuel the plot of the mystery powerfully and effectively, with a fictional precursor to Christie’s Rachel Argyle being the primary murder victim. The solution is one of Ames’ best and interestingly comes in two parts. There are lots of clues to grapple with, physical and psychological, as well as alibis to ponder over. There is not much in the way of metafictional humour, but there is still a consistent vein of comedy which reminded me of Celia Fremlin’s social commentary. In some ways I think this book is a darker narrative with the relationship dynamics at play, in comparison to some of the lighter stories in the series.
It is a shame that there are currently no in-print editions for this series, except for the first book She Shall Murder (1949). But to help guide you when hunting for these books in the second-hand market, here is a post I wrote ranking the Jane and Dagobert mysteries.
Looking at all the titles from the longlist and the top ten it seems that 1941, 1944, 1947 and 1949 were the most prolific years, although 1947 got the most books into the final top 10. Interestingly, three of which were the last in a series, which is nice as sometimes series can end with a whimper rather than a bang. It is annoying yet good when an author leaves you wanting more.
Thank you to everyone who has commented on these 1940s themed posts, and for sharing your own favourite mysteries from that decade. Keep your answers coming in!