I grew up reading Golden Age Detective stories -- those drawing-room murder mysteries, largely from England, that reached their heyday in the 1930s and 40s. As an adult, I still love to mix in with my required teaching texts and assorted fiction a classic crime story whenever I get the chance. And when I have the time, I write up a synopsis and review of that story to share with others; that's how I started my tribute site to the wonderfully imaginative GAD author Gladys Mitchell at www.gladysmitchell.com .
In this post, I survey the darkly comic second book by Richard Hull, Keep It Quiet. Hull (the pseudonym of accountant-turned-mystery writer Richard Henry Sampson) found instant success with his clever debut The Murder of My Aunt, and wrote 14 more crime novels. In each one, he tries to find a surprising way to turn plot and structure on its ear, which is why I like him. Does Keep It Quiet succeed as an original, offbeat Golden Age mystery? Read on and find out.
In this post, I survey the darkly comic second book by Richard Hull, Keep It Quiet. Hull (the pseudonym of accountant-turned-mystery writer Richard Henry Sampson) found instant success with his clever debut The Murder of My Aunt, and wrote 14 more crime novels. In each one, he tries to find a surprising way to turn plot and structure on its ear, which is why I like him. Does Keep It Quiet succeed as an original, offbeat Golden Age mystery? Read on and find out.
Synopsis: London has its share of prestigious men’s clubs, and the rather natty Whitehall Club does not quite belong to those ranks. The smaller library (smoking allowed) is uncomfortably stifling and hot, while the larger library is “kept just above freezing point by one small fire struggling manfully with a series of complicated draughts.” There is considerable controversy over the quality of sherry received from the new wine supplier, and certain members would appreciate the appearance of curled whiting on the club menu from time to time. It falls to The Whitehall Club’s beleaguered secretary Mr. Ford to contend with all problems and complaints, so when a notably disagreeable member is found dead in a library chair, he must deal with this too.
Before help can be summoned, Ford learns from the cook that old Mr. Pargiter may have been the victim of a culinary oversight: due to the re-use of a bottle marked “essence of vanilla”, some perchloride of mercury may have slipped into the iced soufflé. Fearing the negative effects on the club’s reputation, cook and secretary agree to “keep it quiet,” and Ford enlists the resident doctor, Mr. Anstruther, to certify that the man died of natural causes.
Ford’s reflexive choice carries some unfortunate consequences. An anonymous blackmailer begins sending messages to Ford, forcing him to enact many changes in the ways the club is run. (The appearance of whiting on the menu and the firing of faithful waiter Hughes are two such demands.) But Ford – an intermediary who has previously showed little independence or backbone – pushes against his blackmailer’s demands and confides his situation in member and lawyer Mr. Cardonnel, who is already eagerly investigating the theft of books from the club library.
When another unlikeable and elderly member dies in the same library chair, the pressure mounts. Ford’s fate becomes entangled with those of Anstruther and Cardonnel, but can either man be trusted? Owing to his occupation, Hughes is often in a position to observe more than one may think, and with the waiter’s help Ford is able to resolve the unpleasantness and return The Whitehall Club to its former, unspectacular state.
Before help can be summoned, Ford learns from the cook that old Mr. Pargiter may have been the victim of a culinary oversight: due to the re-use of a bottle marked “essence of vanilla”, some perchloride of mercury may have slipped into the iced soufflé. Fearing the negative effects on the club’s reputation, cook and secretary agree to “keep it quiet,” and Ford enlists the resident doctor, Mr. Anstruther, to certify that the man died of natural causes.
Ford’s reflexive choice carries some unfortunate consequences. An anonymous blackmailer begins sending messages to Ford, forcing him to enact many changes in the ways the club is run. (The appearance of whiting on the menu and the firing of faithful waiter Hughes are two such demands.) But Ford – an intermediary who has previously showed little independence or backbone – pushes against his blackmailer’s demands and confides his situation in member and lawyer Mr. Cardonnel, who is already eagerly investigating the theft of books from the club library.
When another unlikeable and elderly member dies in the same library chair, the pressure mounts. Ford’s fate becomes entangled with those of Anstruther and Cardonnel, but can either man be trusted? Owing to his occupation, Hughes is often in a position to observe more than one may think, and with the waiter’s help Ford is able to resolve the unpleasantness and return The Whitehall Club to its former, unspectacular state.
Review: With Keep It Quiet, Richard Hull continues to experiment with the elements and structure of the conventional mystery novel. As whodunits go, this book is less a symphony than a chamber piece, with its cast of characters reduced to four. (Supporting club members appear on the periphery but none makes a lasting contribution to plot or tone.) Offering a variation on the inverted mystery format, Hull reveals villain and circumstances at the halfway mark, and the remainder of the story switches its question from “Who is it?” to “Will he be caught?” The gambit is generally successful for this short book, and with only four characters in play, perhaps the choice of an early reveal is for the best.
Whether Keep It Quiet will appeal to the traditional Golden Age mystery fan depends on what the reader most wants from the genre. As a mystery puzzle, the plot is slight and Hull makes the quixotic choice to exclude almost all of the club’s members from a traditional fair-play suspect list. But I believe the author is more interested in shaping and sustaining a satiric tone, contrasting the British conception of a genteel men’s social club with the petty bickering and farcical attempts to maintain order, power, and civility. (A similar feigned hauteur-breeds-common frustration satire drives the engine of John Cleese’s excellent television series Fawlty Towers.) The idea that a witness to murder would use the situation to force improvements to his club is comical, but it is also in keeping with the world and worries that the author provides his characters. Parody also comes in the form of lawyer Cardonnel’s rather questionable deductive methods to identify the resident book thief. In a leap of logic that would make Sherlock Holmes cringe, Cardonnel states that the thief is not only married but also plays bridge with his wife:
Whether Keep It Quiet will appeal to the traditional Golden Age mystery fan depends on what the reader most wants from the genre. As a mystery puzzle, the plot is slight and Hull makes the quixotic choice to exclude almost all of the club’s members from a traditional fair-play suspect list. But I believe the author is more interested in shaping and sustaining a satiric tone, contrasting the British conception of a genteel men’s social club with the petty bickering and farcical attempts to maintain order, power, and civility. (A similar feigned hauteur-breeds-common frustration satire drives the engine of John Cleese’s excellent television series Fawlty Towers.) The idea that a witness to murder would use the situation to force improvements to his club is comical, but it is also in keeping with the world and worries that the author provides his characters. Parody also comes in the form of lawyer Cardonnel’s rather questionable deductive methods to identify the resident book thief. In a leap of logic that would make Sherlock Holmes cringe, Cardonnel states that the thief is not only married but also plays bridge with his wife:
"You see, if he has a wife, he must explain somehow how he is able to obtain so readily a supply of second-hand books, many of them having perhaps some mark identifying them with the Club. The most ready suggestion is that he buys second-hand packs of cards from the Club in the usual way, and explains the second-hand books as being a similar convenience.”
While not a complicated mystery story, Keep It Quiet provides an enjoyably comic look at the inhabitants of a city club in 1930s London, and of the many minor grudges, insecurities, tyrannies, and complaints that might lie within.
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