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 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.
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.
RSS Feed