This is my fifth read by Moray Dalton and of these five I would say Death in the Forest (1939) [which shares its name with an Anton Chekhov tale] is the most unconventional in terms of the tropes it deploys and the narrative structure it adopts. Some of this I will be able to discuss more freely in my review, but perhaps the most sinister and creepy element of the book is one which I will have to leave you to discover by yourself…
Synopsis
‘“The man’s heart was dicky. It couldn’t stand a shock. The question is—what shock?”
Roger Frere is delighted to meet the lovely Celia Holland. But Celia is leaving for the South American republic of San Rinaldo, taking a post as governess. When Celia gets accidentally mixed up in a bloody San Rinaldo revolution, she manages to return to England . . . and finds herself plunged into murderous local mysteries. A stranger has been discovered in the forest, having apparently died of sheer fright. Roger, now married, lives at Frere Court, with his bride Nina, plus a grasping stepmother and a theatrical half-brother. Also in the neighbourhood is Major Enderby, a solitary individual, retired after service in India. The Major seems to be knowing more than he lets on about strange events in the area. These now include creepy nocturnal prowlings by a creature unknown; the poisoning murder of a housemaid; and an attempt to dispose of Celia Holland using a gift of dates—sprinkled with ground glass. Inspector Collier comes down from Scotland Yard to learn what’s going on.’
Overall Thoughts
Despite my teaser of an introduction, Dalton’s mystery begins quite traditionally. Poor relation, Roger Frere, goes to live with his wealthy uncle who lives at Frere Court near New Forest. At this early stage the reader is informed about the grasping nature of some of Roger’s other relatives, namely his stepmother and half-brother, who are hoping to benefit from Roger’s closeness to his uncle. We are also introduced to one of our other key protagonists, Celia Holland, who is the daughter of a poor vicar, and they live in the neighbourhood of Frere Court. I wish I had Moira (blogger at Clothes in Books) to hand when reading this mystery, as I curious about the clothes reference in this passage:
‘The vicar and his daughter arrived punctually at eight. Celia looked very well in a blue lace frock. Mr Frerer was openly admiring. “Charming, my, dear. Quite a creation –”
Celia laughed. There was no other woman present to detect the fact that her best evening frock was a reach-me-down from an Oxford Street bargain basement.’
The reader might be wondering if Roger and Celia are going to pair up there and then, but alas Celia has just accepted a governess job which will be taking her to San Rinaldo, which is given to be near South America:
“Well – I hope you’re right,” said Roger. “I wish you weren’t going, but that’s pure selfishness on my part. I wish you luck. It seems rather topsy turvy though.”
“What do you mean?”
“My staying at home as a companion to an early relative, while you go out to the wide open spaces.”
The terms and conditions of Celia’s job offer are very generous, naturally leaving us wondering if the offer will turn out to be too good to be true. Celia is certainly a little daunted by the landscape of San Rinaldo:
‘In the red light of the setting sun the sinister fences of barbed wire and bones made a fantastic pattern of shadows on the ground.’
Secluded in the countryside is the home of her employer, a home big enough to be classed as a country house, but it is definitely not a typical one, especially with its locked room, with a dark secret. The oddity of the building is commented upon in the story:
‘The architect had apparently made his plans with an eye on the Grand Trianon, combined with a lurking weakness for the Alhambra and the Parthenon. The result was undeniably impressive and bore about as much resemblance to the usual country house as Hardy’s The Dynasts does to an average West End drawing-room comedy.’
In the first three chapters, with the action moving between New Forest and San Rinaldo, a lot of action takes place, and these plot developments keep the reader adjusting and readjusting their ideas as to what the narrative will be like, as it is a hard one to pin down and anticipate.
These early developments include Roger appearing in San Rinaldo for a day trip, a day trip which ends in Roger, Celia and the family butler running for their lives as a revolution overtakes the country. What happens during this night has long lasting repercussions for all these characters and many others we have yet to meet. Not least Roger who meets the woman he will marry that night, but it is not Celia… At this point in the story, you would be forgiven for mistaking this novel for an adventure tale rather than a mystery. However, by chapter 4 (yes, a lot happens very early in this book!) the story returns and stays put near New Forest, where Roger has come into his inheritance and he has his parasitic relatives living with him, and his new wife who he seems to hold no affection for.
Celia is back on the scene, coming home for a holiday. Locally, families are keeping their children indoors after dark due to the strange goings on in New Forest, which is leaving animals maimed and dead. What savage beast is causing this? (A little nod to The Hound of the Baskervilles perhaps?) Nevertheless, why does Major Enderby feel the need to lock his garden gate, if the trouble in New Forest is not human based? The stakes are also raised when the one morning the major comes across an unidentified dead man, who has seemingly died of fright. Even the local policeman is disturbed…
‘As he told his wife afterwards, “Policeman I may be, but being left alone with stiffs isn’t my cup of tea, specially not a stiff that looked as if he’d died in a nightmare.”’
Whilst this is all going on there are the various intrigues and tensions points at Frere Court, with more death in the offing. As the story was unfolding it occurred to me that this narrative had a number of elements which give it an older feel, including:
- An awkward marriage which has not been formed due to affection
- An oddly acting wife from another country (putting me in mind of Jane Eyre)
- A risky governess job (Jane never had to contend with a South American revolution)
- Roger is found one night by Major Enderby sleepwalking, half insensible (a Wilkie Collins nod?)
In terms of characterisation, I think Dalton did a good job of sketching in her characters, swiftly, but effectively. Celia is okay. She is not a helpless heroine, yet she is a bit naïve, always wanting to see the best in people, to the point of ignoring danger signals. Both her and Roger could be likened to doormats, which made them less appealing as protagonists for me. In addition, I felt this was a little at odds with Celia’s spirit for adventure. I guess Dalton managed to create the adventurous doormat. Interestingly, the spendthrift half-brother of Roger was less annoying in person than I thought he would be, showing Dalton adding nuance to her characters. Roger’s half-brother, Cedric, could easily have been a stereotypical lounge lizard, but Dalton avoids this easy path.
The plot is mostly pushed along by Major Enderby and his encounters with the other key characters. Enderby was in the police in India, retiring early due to a breakdown. Despite the narrative returning to England, the unconventional structure continues, as there are many narrative threads, even an undefined threat, but there is no central case for the reader to focus upon. Furthermore, it is hard to figure out the end of game of Roger’s wife, Nina.
The police only really figure in the story once death strikes at Frere Court. The unexpected choice of victim makes this more interesting, offering a wide-open net of suspects. Given the sprawling nature of the plot, it is not surprising that the solution has multiple parts, interspersed with some thriller sequences. Regarding the solution there is a lot of conjecture rather than concrete evidence and I think this is one of the reasons that the narrative perspective changes near the end, to that of the guilty party, in order to make the conclusion more convincing. Characters take the law into their own hands and fate also plays a role in the outcomes for various people in the book. There is some holding back of key information, which was a bit annoying, as the concealing of these details distorted the nature of the investigation, making it vaguer than it needed to be. The denouement also finishes a bit abruptly and the most bizarre aspect of the book is left a little unresolved, which is a shame, as it had the potential to make this book span the gothic/horror side of fiction and the detective novel.
Rating: 4/5
