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Book Review: THE DEADLY TRUTH (1941) by Helen McCloy

3/31/2021

The premise is an enticing one: selfish socialite Claudia Bethune appropriates a vial of experimental truth serum from the laboratory of a scientist who is infatuated with her. Her objective is a mischievous, malignant one and the cause of her undoing. At a dinner party, her carefully chosen guests are served drinks spiked with the serum, while a sober Claudia has a ringside seat to watch the fun as inhibitions are shed and secrets are revealed. But two of the revelations provide nasty jolts for the hostess, and later that evening she is found by Dr. Basil Willing at her dining room table, strangled with her own jewel-set necklace. By morning, the effects of the drug have worn off, but the guests are hesitant to describe the scene from the night before. As Dr. Willing conducts his interviews, he needs to determine whether his subjects are telling everything or hiding important truths that someone has killed to conceal.

I am always excited to celebrate the return of classic mystery authors and their books after years or decades of unavailability, and this time it is Agora Books which offers readers the first three Dr. Basil Willing titles of American novelist Helen McCloy. Hopefully there will be many more to come. The Deadly Truth is the third book in the series, first published by William Morrow and Company in 1941. While years ago I read the Crippen & Landru Publishers collection of McCloy’s short fiction, The Pleasant Assassin and other Cases (2003), I never tried one of her mystery novels until now. Truth is engaging, well plotted, and nicely paced, even as the author’s series detective proves to be a little sedate and nondescript. McCloy’s cerebral psychiatrist Dr. Willing is highly capable and keenly observant, and perhaps it is wise for the detective to be relatively featureless compared to the flamboyant cast of characters he must investigate.

McCloy builds the backstories of her victim and suspects by employing some admirable twists and turns. In addition to the ambitious and trouble-stirring Claudia Bethune, Claudia’s husband Michael has cast off his first wife, Phyllis, for the wealthier and more attractive socialite. Michael and Phyllis both attend the truth-telling party, as does financial manager Charles Rodney and aspiring debutante Peggy Titus. The secrets revealed by the guests under the influence of the serum are unpalatable indeed, and Dr. Roger Slater, who has followed Claudia from his laboratory to recover the drug she stole from him, is a witness and reluctant conspirator at the fateful dinner.

McCloy peppers The Deadly Truth with some interesting clues, even as at least one – involving proving an individual’s real or feigned deafness – carries a questionable physiological explanation. I also enjoyed identifying the differences between this New York-set 1940s murder mystery and its traditional British equivalent. For one, American genre writers of this time often (unconsciously?) replicated the patter and archetypes of the characters from a Hollywood movie, so there is a glamour and archness to dialogue and dress that you don’t find in a village like Miss Marple’s St. Mary Mead. Additionally, business and finance are often more actively incorporated into the plots of American mystery writers, who seem to enjoy exploring the minutiae of directing board motives and office appointment alibis more than their British counterparts. (See Rex Stout or Emma Lathen, e.g.) In Truth, labor strikes, stock buyouts, and cumulative assets are all avenues of investigation.

Thanks to Agora Books for starting to reprint the Basil Willing books of Helen McCloy; may there be more to come soon. I received an advance reading copy through NetGalley in exchange for a forthright review. Kate from crossexaminingcrime and J.F. Norris from Pretty Sinister Books also have reviews posted.

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Book Review: MURDER AT MONK'S BARN (1931) by Cecil Waye

3/9/2021

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These days, you will often find me singing the praises of the independent presses whose continuing efforts are giving fans of Golden Age Detection mysteries access once more to long-unavailable stories. It’s a refrain that is well deserved: Mysterious Press and Open Road Media have brought back rare Q. Patrick and Patrick Quentin titles, while Agora Books has begun to reissue Helen McCloy’s series featuring Dr. Basil Willing, to give just two current examples. Dean Street Press has long been a champion in the reprint field, consistently providing fans with hard-to-find titles from prolific Golden Age authors like Christopher Bush, Brian Flynn, E.R. Punshon, and Patricia Wentworth. Dean Street has recently released four more rarities well worth celebrating and seeking out: the Cecil Waye stories published early in Major Cecil John Charles Street’s mystery writing career.

Street is best known for the more than 100 smart puzzle stories he produced using the pseudonyms John Rhode and Miles Burton. It is exciting to see how the Cecil Waye books fit into the canon. As of this writing, I have only read the first book to feature the sibling investigating team of Christopher and Vivienne Perrin, 1931’s Murder at Monk’s Barn. In his introduction, Tony Medawar describes the other Waye stories as “metropolitan thrillers”, but Street’s first entry in this brief series is a winning combination of locked-room mystery, lovers in jeopardy, and clue-driven puzzle.

Gilbert Wynter, a senior partner of an electrical engineering firm, is shot through the curtained window of his Monk’s Barn residence. His younger brother Austin, who is now the chief suspect, visits the Perrins Invesigators office and requests their help in clearing his name. The assignment becomes especially personal for Vivienne Perrin, who quickly falls in love with her client. The murder is a baffling one, however, as the shot (and the retrieved gun) originated from within the walled and gated gardens of the home, yet no visitors could have entered or exited without being noticed. Motive is also unknown; the only person with one appears to be Austin, who had just quarreled with his brother about the direction of the company. With Gilbert out of the way, Austin is one step closer to complete ownership of the firm.

But the dead man’s wife inherits Gilbert’s share of the holdings, and Anne Wynter appears to be just as obstinate as her husband had been about expanding the company. When a poisoned box of chocolates arrives in roundabout fashion as a gift at Monk’s Barn and a gossipy neighbor named Mrs. Cartwright becomes the next fatality, Superintendent Swayne cannot ignore the mounting evidence against Austin Wynter and makes an arrest. It is Vivienne, with Christopher following a step behind, who must race against the clock to find a solution that will clear the name of her inamorato.

The presence of a romantic narrative in detective fiction has long been a source of contention for some readers. Others, like myself, have no real problem with the “human element” seeping into a whodunit as long as it doesn’t threaten to overtake the story and shift its genre status. Street, writing as Waye, strikes a pleasing balance here, in my opinion. As he will be known for his exercises in clinical detail through the dozens of John Rhode mysteries featuring the science-minded Dr. Lancelot Priestley, it is enjoyable to see how the “humdrum” author approaches a romantic motif; I think he acquits himself admirably, and of course Vivienne’s feelings for the accused man raises the stakes for the character and (ostensibly) for the reader.

The puzzle of Monk’s Barn is a satisfying one, even as the pool of alternative suspects is limited to precisely two. Presuming, as the Perrins do, that their client is innocent, the circumstances of the first murder (and Vivienne’s mid-book exploration of the neighborhood terrain) spotlight the villain for the reader early on. The solution is clever but not overly complicated, and there is also a touch of effective melodrama through the final tragic tableau the author creates for his murderer.

If I have one (minor) complaint, it is connected with the introduction of that fateful box of chocolates. The prop is introduced and handled in such an obvious way that it might just as well have a flashing neon skull and crossbones atop it. I primarily bristled at its unnatural absorption into the story, which could have been more subtly deployed to much greater effect. As written, the reader watches as Austin offers to buy Vivienne a box of local chocolates, Vivienne explains that she never eats chocolate, Austin sends a box to her anyway, Vivienne decides to gift them to Mrs. Cartwright, who explains repeatedly that she will bring them to Mrs. Wynter, who will eat the square chocolates while she, Mrs. Cartwright, will eat the round ones... By the time the poison finally makes its entrance, it feels like we have been immersed in the Chocolate Saga Set-Up for pages upon pages, which we have.

Still, Murder at Monk’s Barn quickly recovers after this, even as Mrs. Cartwright does not, and the book is great fun for aficionados of classic mystery fiction. It was every bit as enjoyable as the Miles Burton titles I have read featuring Inspector Arnold and Desmond Merrion, another pair of Street investigators where one is grounded and the other more free-thinking. You can find supportive reviews of Monk’s Barn from Nick Fuller at The Grandest Game in the World, Puzzle Doctor at In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel, and José Ignacio at A Crime is Afoot. Thanks again to Dean Street Press and all of the reprint publishers who are making out-of-print titles available to a new generation of readers and fans.

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April 2021 Mitchell Mystery Reading Group event: SUNSET OVER SOHO

3/4/2021

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I am pleased to announce the next Mitchell Mystery Reading Group title! This April, I will moderate weekly discussions of Gladys Mitchell’s moody 1943 wartime mystery, Sunset over Soho. This is currently one of the author’s more elusive books -- translation: out of print -- but when I asked the site subscribers, most of those interested in taking part said they have or will be able to obtain a copy. (Apologies to those who said they will need to wait until the next group reading this winter.) American Kindle owners can download the ebook from Amazon inexpensively, but print editions are costly to obtain.

Sunset over Soho has long been an enticing title to revisit, and I have been meaning for years to take another look. If you would like to be part of the discussion over the month of April, I ask readers to please send me your observations (e.g., a couple paragraphs of observations or opinion) for a targeted group of chapters each Tuesday, and I will curate, assemble, and share them in a post by that weekend on this www.jasonhalf.com blog. My email is jason@jasonhalf.com .

Many intriguing conversations have resulted from previous group title readings, and there is much to discuss with this one. You can view past blog entries by clicking on the Mitchell Mystery Reading Group link in the right side Categories column accompanying this post.

Let’s look at Sunset over Soho using this reading schedule:

TUES. APRIL 6 – Comments due for Chapter 1 “Blitz” through Chapter 6 “Mermaid”
TUES. APRIL 13 – Comments due for Chapter 7 “Fugitive” through Chapter 12 “Tryst”
TUES. APRIL 20 – Comments due for Chapter 13 “Castaway” through Chapter 18 “Angels”
TUES. APRIL 27 – Comments due for Chapter 19 “Prodigal” through Chapter 23 “Meeting”

Of course, readers are welcome to read ahead, but please make notes of future chapters and send those comments on the appropriate week. And if you would rather read along with us but not send in weekly comments, that’s fine too!

Let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to revisiting this Mrs. Bradley mystery, and I promise that December’s chosen title will be one that is currently in print and available to all!

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Book Review: THE DEADLY TRUTH (1941) by Helen McCloy

Book Review: MURDER AT MONK'S BARN (1931) by Cecil Waye

April 2021 Mitchell Mystery Reading Group event: SUNSET OVER SOHO

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