Martin Edwards in The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books (2017) describes the inverted mystery as one which ‘cross-fertilises a study of criminal behaviour with a detective story.’ Traditionally, such a tale makes the reader ‘an actual witness of the crime’, Martin further adds, so they are therefore ‘furnished with every fact that could be possibly used in its detection.’ This is how R. Austin Freeman conceived the subgenre, of which he was ‘the first significant exponent.’ For Freeman the emphasis in a mystery should be placed on how the detective uncovers the truth, rather than on the solution itself. Now for some it may seem like there is little story left to tell in such a format. After all you know whodunnit, howdunnit and usually even whydunit. I must confess that if Freeman’s output was the only example of inverted mysteries, then I would not be a fan (although he has many fans). His writing style and characters just don’t work for me. John M. Reilly in The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing (1999) wrote: ‘His innovative creation of the inverted detective story […] became Freeman’s means for replacing the human-interest plot o a detective hunting a criminal with an abstract intellectual drama of problem-solving.’ I will leave those who have read more Freeman mysteries to decide if this is a fair statement or not, but if the inverted mystery did start out this way, it certainly did not remain so, as in the 1930s and 1940s many authors experimented with this subgenre, filling it with mystery, puzzle, suspense and on occasion terror. In some ways the restrictions or conventions of an inverted mystery, in the hands of skilled crime writers, encourage rather than kill off creativity in crime fiction. Columbo is the most famous example of the inverted mystery style on TV, although later TV shows such as Monk have also used it at times.
So, if you fancy dipping your toe into the waters of inverted mysteries, then here are twelve that I have really enjoyed…
Suggestion No.1: The Unsuspected (1947) by Charlotte Armstrong
This was Armstrong’s fourth novel, and I would say it is one of her best. It centres on Jane who, with a friend, infiltrate the home and life of a famous voice of the radio, a man she believes murdered her friend Rosaleen (in such a way that it appeared to be a case of suicide) in order to prevent her revealing her killer was an embezzler. I would not say this story takes the predictable or expected road, as the bulk of the book focuses on the end of the investigation, with the evidence nearly all found – yet success hangs by a thread, another woman could make or break the whole endeavour. The denouement has you on the edge of your seat, as there are no guarantees that everything will turn out alright. I am not surprised that this book was filmed the same year it was published. It also made it on to Howard Haycraft and Fredric Dannay’s list of Definitive Library of Detective-Crime-Mystery fiction.
Suggestion No. 2: The Reluctant Murderer (1949) by Bernice Carey
This first-person narrative puts us into the mind of the would-be killer yet like in Pat McGerr’s Pick Your Victim (1946), the reader knows who the murderer will be, but not who is going to be done in. This is one of the ways the inverted mystery can re-inject a thread of mystery and puzzle into the narrative, as the reader has to use their sleuthing skills to figure out the intended victim’s identity. Carey adds a further twist to the plot by having someone else try to bump off our murderer! Furthermore, she ensures that the reader is not completely alienated or repulsed by the narrator. I love how the ending of this book is hard to anticipate.
Suggestion No. 3: Sudden Fear (1948) by Edna Sherry
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.
Suggestion No. 4: A Judgement in Stone (1977) by Ruth Rendell
This mystery was published much later than the others on this list, and perhaps this is why the emphasis shifts to trying to understand the personal and social factors which went into the murderous massacre Eunice Parchment undertakes. The very first sentence of the book is this: ‘Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.’ The brief first chapter then goes on to clearly tell us who in the family dies and the name of Eunice’s accomplice, as well as the when and the where and the why. Nevertheless, the chapter closes on this remark: ‘But there was more to it than that.’ Now your normal mystery reading fan may be wondering what more there could be, given how much information we are furnished with in the story’s exposition. Yet Rendell does indeed show us how much more there is to know about Eunice’s story. The book traces the events leading up to the crime with its unusual choice of motive. How can someone’s illiteracy lead to them murdering four people? This book is evidence of how the inverted mystery form encourages creativity, as if the typical questions of whodunnit, howdunnit and whydunit are removed, the author has to come up with some more unusual and original questions to drive the narrative forward, which is what Ruth Rendell does here.
Suggestion No. 5: The Beast Must Die (1938) by Nicholas Blake
Frank Cairnes, a mystery writer, plans to murder the man who ran over and killed his son. His diary forms the first half of the narrative, detailing his journey towards discovering his son’s killer and his way into their household. Frank is poised to commit his revenge, but when the intended death occurs – did he actually do the deed? The novel then has Nigel Strangeways take on this perplexing mystery. This variant of the inverted mystery tells the reader about the planned murder yet leaves it uncertain as to whether it happened. The way this story is constructed, it encourages the reader to make various assumptions, but how many of these are correct? How much of the information you are given, can you trust? Given the nature of the plot and the characters it contains, I think The Beast Must Die has a greater emotional resonance and impact, in comparison to Blake’s earlier work, Thou Shell of Death (1936), which has some thematic crossovers.
Suggestion No. 6: The First Time He Died (1938) by Ethel Lina White
Charles Baxter and his two accomplices plan an insurance scam, which necessitates him pretending to die from flu. A harmless bit of fraud you might think. A victimless crime, as only the insurance company loses out. But White proves this to be a false notion, as she takes her characters and the reader on a dark and fraught journey to a powerfully dramatic finale. Whilst the question of “Will they get caught?” is ever present in the story, I would say the reader’s need to know what will happen next is the stronger pull, as all bets are off with this tale. This is a novel which really needs to be reprinted, and I also think it would be a good candidate for adapting for TV. When I came to this book, I had a few White titles under my belt and I thought I had her sussed, but I loved how wrong I was. I was genuinely surprised by the direction White takes her narrative in.
Suggestion No. 7: A Voice Like Velvet (1944) by Donald Henderson
If White’s novel is dark, then Henderson’s is definitely on the light and comedic side. His criminal is a BBC radio announcer by day and a cat burglar by night and events are told from his perspective. Random House, who published the book in 1946 in the USA, aligned the tale as being part of the gentlemen crook tradition, as typified by E. W. Hornung’s A. J. Raffles. Yet I think the protagonist, Bisham, outgrows this mould, or at the very least doesn’t quite fit it comfortably. He is not a dashing, rogue-ish, Wimsey-gone-criminal, thief. He is in fact an unfit, middle class, middle aged, overweight radio announcer. Perhaps it is this incongruity which makes him so appealing as a character. There is no guarantee he will get away with what he is doing, yet you still want him to avoid getting caught, despite the dubiousness of what he is doing. If you’re in the mood for fun, then I think this one fits the bill.
Suggestion No. 8: The Deadly Dowager (1934) by Edwin Greenwood
Lady Arabella de Birkett plans to restore the family coffers by taking out insurance policies on many of her family members, with any pay-outs to go to her grandson. With much creativity flair, it is not surprising that these relations start dying… These deaths are invariably bloodless, but make no mistake, they are chilling and a macabre atmosphere develops as the book progresses. Arabella’s tyrannic hold on her family and her villainy reach new levels and I think the success of this book rests upon its characters.
Suggestion No. 9: The Norwich Victims (1931) by Francis Beeding
A schoolteacher unwisely tells her colleagues about winning the French lottery. Her folly is compounded when she goes to discuss her winnings with a stockbroker, who is on his uppers. Unsurprisingly her demise is not long in coming. If you think inverted mysteries can’t be surprising then I think this novel proves otherwise, as the ending thoroughly pulled the rug from under my feet.
Suggestion No. 10: Murder Isn’t Easy (1936) by Richard Hull
Hull was a consistent experimenter within the inverted mystery subgenre. His most famous is The Murder of My Aunt (1934), but I think his best and most intricately plotted is Murder Isn’t Easy. A director at an advertising firm decides the only way to get rid of an annoying colleague is to murder them, yet this simple decision is fraught with complications when the director tries to put it into practice. A key reason this book is such a strong read is the way it tells the story and how this influences the direction in which our sympathies lie. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, but I think you can take it as guaranteed that twists and surprises are included.
Suggestion No. 11: Malice Aforethought (1931) by Francis Iles
I read this book over 9 years ago, but I can still remember how I felt when I reached the ending. I had only been reading mysteries seriously for two years or so and I was still quite new to the inverted mystery subgenre, so this story was quite the eye opener. Iles’ (better known as Anthony Berkeley) tale is told from the point of view of Dr Bickleigh, a henpecked doctor who decides to bump off his wife. It is the way that Iles depicts Bickleigh’s character which makes this such an interesting and darkly humorous read. We see each success or setback Bickleigh faces, and we are eager to know whether he will finally overcome all his obstacles or like Icarus, will the doctor fly too close to the sun and come crashing down to earth on the end of a hangman’s noose? Iles’ choice of denouement plays with these two options well.
Suggestion No. 12: Before the Fact by Francis Iles
I was in two minds as to whether I should include two books by the same author on this list, but I felt this was an important inverted mystery to feature, as it places the victim in the driving seat, telling the story from her point of view, as it slowly dawns on Lina McLaidlow that her husband is a killer. Iles’ handling of this plot and the themes it generates is interesting, making you wonder what you would do in a similar situation. Lina’s life is otherwise a typically ordinary one, yet the author escalates the sense of horror brilliantly, as the danger point comes ever closer to Lina. I would argue that both these mysteries by Iles were key in the development of psychological crime fiction, and they are worth reading, not least because of the challenging characters they present us with. There’s certainly nothing very cosy about them!
I have a few further honourable mentions. I decided to stick to classic inverted mysteries, but two modern ones which I have read and enjoyed are Murder Your Employer: The McMaster’s Guide to Homicide (2023) by Rupert Holmes and Anne Wedgwood’s The Botanist (2020). Martin Edwards’ latest Rachel Savernake mystery, Hemlock Bay (2024) also has a pleasing inverted mystery thread in it. There is also Andrew Garve’s Home to Roost (1976) and the joy of this book is trying to figure out (as you go along) whether this story is an inverted mystery or not. Garve keeps you guessing right until the end and creates brilliant suspense as a result.
What is your opinion on inverted mysteries? Do you love them? Or do you hate them? Which other inverted mysteries would you recommend readers try?
Aidan at Mysteries Ahoy, in 2019, came up with a list of five inverted mysteries he recommended others try and pleasingly they are five different ones, so you have even more titles to hunt down!