Hemlock Bay is the fifth Rachel Savernake mystery, and this is a series which has been a huge hit with me from the start and this latest instalment is no different, beginning with the brilliant cover design. This series embodies the creative spirit that you find in the works of the best classic crime writers of the mid-20th century. Like such practitioners, Martin Edwards produces a dynamic and unexpected plot, which is character driven.
Synopsis
‘Basil Palmer plans to murder a man called Louis Carson. The problem is he doesn’t know anything about his intended victim, not who he is nor where he lives. After learning that Carson runs a hotel in Hemlock Bay, a playground for the wealthy and privileged, Palmer invents a false identity. Posing as Dr Seamus Doyle, he journeys to the coast plotting murder along the way. Meanwhile, after hearing a fortune teller has predicted a murder in a place called Hemlock Bay, amateur sleuth Rachel Savernake rents a cottage there, determined to discover for herself the serpent that has slithered into this idyllic Eden. Murder does occur at the resort, and after meeting a mysterious doctor called Seamus Doyle, Rachel finds herself entering a maze of intricate mysteries – just where she likes to be.’
Overall Thoughts
As the blurb highlights, a key strand in this mystery is an inverted one, although the would-be killer has some gaps in his knowledge regarding his intended victim. The questions surrounding Louis Carson and who he might be, put me in mind of The Reluctant Murderer (1949) by Bernice Carey and Pat McGerr’s Pick Your Victim (1946). Yet I enjoyed the variation Martin produced with this idea. As readers we are used to sleuths having to work in the dark at times, but it is less common for a killer to be doing the same. Normally they have the greater knowledge and control of the situation. That cannot be said to be true here, however. The violent and troubling events of Hemlock Bay involve murky waters for investigators and would-be murderers alike, as more than one nefarious plan is afoot causing confusion for a time. This was a set-up/structure, which I really enjoyed.
I wondered if Basil Palmer’s surname was a nod to the 19th century poisoner William Palmer the poisoner, although Basil’s murder scheme is centred on a cliff and a big shove. When coming up with his false identity to travel to Hemlock Bay it is somewhat ironic that Basil goes for being an Irish doctor called Doyle, as that rather patterns on to the real-life details of Arthur Conan Doyle. If Basil had read more contemporary crime fiction, he would know that doctors always arouse suspicious, so he might have been better off picking a different backstory. Perhaps this is an early sign he is not so adept at being a criminal as he thinks he is.
The prologue focuses on an unnamed couple, who are on the precipice of a big decision:
“Didn’t we explore every avenue? It’s hopeless, we both see that. There is simply no alternative.”
She expelled a long sigh. “I suppose you’re right.”
Naturally the reader is curious as to what they are planning, especially since it involves a loaded gun, whose trigger is squeezed by the end of the scene. Yet the question of what has transpired remains. Murder? Suicide? Is there a third party also present? I like how this section is deliberately ambiguous, and it echoes a little the overheard conversation at the start of Murder in Mesopotamia (1936) by Agatha Christie.
Chapter one is the first of several excerpts from Basil Palmer’s journal, which starts on the 1st January, 1931:
‘My New Year’s resolution is to murder a man I’ve never met. This is no sudden decision. For almost six months it’s brewed in my mind. Ever since I lost my beloved Alicia. Since I was a boy of ten, I have celebrated each new year by making a resolution. Reticent by nature, and fearful of failure, I’ve never mentioned this to a soul, but I’ve pursued each aim with a zeal that would startle those around me. Other people see me as meek, mild-mannered, and middle-aged, the very model of a modern chartered accountant. My reputation for reliability and attention to detail has enabled me to make a success of my practice, but nobody would think of me as remorseless. Respectable, yes. To my core. My previous resolutions have, I must admit, lacked daring. To commit oneself to abstaining from alcohol or losing half a stone in weight is a very different kettle of fish from deciding to murder a fellow human being.’
Stylistically I was reminded of two classic crime novels. The first is Nicholas Blake’s The Beast Must Die (1938), as that story also features a man motivated to plan a murder due to grief, whilst the second is Malice Aforethought (1931) by Francis Iles (a.k.a. Anthony Berkeley); an author Martin wrote about in The Golden Age of Murder (2015). In a way Basil Palmer combines the motivation of the Blake novel with the manner of the would-be murderer, Doctor Bickleigh, in Iles’ book. In addition, Basil also writes in his diary: ‘My only experience of criminality is another old habit of driving at speeds in excess of the pitiful maximum prescribed by the Motor Car Act of 1903.’ This too reminded of Berkeley who similarly was fined for a motoring offence, although I can’t remember if it was speed related too. Berkeley’s work is further echoed in the way Basil says Louis Carson (his name is mentioned on page 5, so it is not a spoiler) ‘deserves to die’, as justifiable homicide is a theme Berkeley considered in his own stories such as Trial and Error (1937).
Chapter two switches to Rachel Savernake and her household. Her entry point into the situation at Hemlock Bay is via a surrealist painting she buys, named after the place. Upon examining it closely she wonders if an ambiguous shadow on the beach, below a cliff, is in fact meant to be a corpse face down in the sand (which naturally made me think of Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun (1941)). This is a minor point, but it turns out that the artist has gone to live in the area and a man committed suicide there a few weeks ago, having jumped off a cliff, despite having won the football pools (guess the Christie I thought of when I heard that!). Added to which a couple say this man was on his own and there was no one close enough to push him (again guess the Christie which sprung to mind). I like how these details make me think of different possible narrative paths, as it kept me interested to see which direction Martin took. It is a story opening which is full of possibilities.
Chapter three sees the entrance of another established series character, newspaper reporter Jacob Flint. He receives a letter from a fortune teller called The Great Hallemby who says he had a vision that a man will be murdered at Hemlock Bay. The police don’t believe the letter writer, so he has decided to visit Jacob, to gain help in preventing this tragedy. Yet at this meeting his information is vague, making the reader, as well as Jacob, wonder if he is lying or telling the truth. And in the case of the latter is he only telling some of what he knows? What is his end game? I like how the author gets the different characters involved in the central story at Hemlock Bay as each person adds to the overall picture.
Furthermore, I love Martin’s inclusion of real quirky historical and social details. For example, Jacob’s newspaper, The Clarion,considers doing their own version of a publicity stunt called ‘Lobby Lud’. Yet this was a real thing, which I discovered when I looked it up on Wikipedia
‘Lobby Lud is a fictional character created in August 1927 by the Westminster Gazette, a British newspaper, now defunct. The character was used in readers’ prize competitions during the summer period. Anonymous employees visited seaside resorts and afterwards wrote down a detailed description of the town they visited, without giving away its name. They also described a person they happened to see that day and declared him to be the “Lobby Lud” of that issue. Readers were given a pass phrase and had to try to guess both the location and the person described by the reporters. Anyone carrying the newspaper could challenge Lobby Lud with the phrase and receive £5 (equivalent to £263 in 2024). The competition was created because people on holiday were known to be less likely to buy a newspaper […] Circulation could drop considerably in the summer and proprietors hoped prizes would increase it.’
I also realised once I had finished the novel that Martin also includes some info on Lobby Lud at the back of the book.
As the narrative unfolds, we see Basil Palmer establish himself at Hemlock Bay, the highs and the lows, such as when he nearly bumps into someone he knew at Cambridge. Martin does a good job of balancing the page time between Rachel Savernake activities with Basil Palmer’s diary extracts. The first death doesn’t occur until nearly 50% into the book, but this does not dint the pace of the story. I had my eye on the first victim and was curious to see how their demise connected with what else was going on. Problem after problem besets Basil as he tries to get closer to bumping off Louis, which adds a darkly humorous note to the piece, when one more thing keeps happening. Two-thirds of the way through the novel we learn more about why Basil wants to kill Louis, and the answer was not fully what I expected, as the truth reveals a less sympathetic portrait of Alicia. I think Martin’s handling of Palmer’s thread in the tale is very effective, avoiding more conventional pathways.
The choice of second victim makes for a good surprise. Trying to solve the mysteries in this book is like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole. You must keep your eyes on as many holes as possible to figure out where the mole or gopher (in the US) will pop up next. I was able to manage this in some respects, but I was not able to anticipate all the twists and turns, which go off in spectacular fashion at the end of the story, like a fireworks display. There are nods and hints of Christie here, but Martin doesn’t simply repeat her solutions. I find he combines them together, coupling them with his own ideas to produce interesting variations, meaning the novel concludes on a pleasing and successful note.
So, all in all this is a book I can highly recommend, although you might not be going on a seaside holiday any time soon!
Rating: 4.75/5
Source: Review Copy (Aries Fiction/ Head of Zeus)
See also: The Puzzle Doctor who writes the blog, In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel has also reviewed this title.
Rachel Savernake Series
- Gallows Court (2018)
- Mortmain Hall (2020)
- Blackstone Fell (2022)
- Sepulchre Street (2023)