Murder and mayhem in the London suburbs!! @Galileobooks

It’s been a little while since I featured any Golden Age crime on the Ramblings, and after the heavier reads at the end of May (Bulgakov, Perec) I felt in need of a little contrast. Fortunately, lovely Galileo Publishers came to the rescue, as they’ve been kind enough to send me a wonderful selection of review copies. It was hard to choose as all of them sound marvellous, but in the end I went for a title by an author I’ve read before – “Bloodshed in Bayswater” by John Rowland.

I’ve read a couple of Rowland’s mysteries before, as two titles (“Calamity in Kent” and “Murder in the Museum“) have been reissued as British Library Crime Classics. I enjoyed both of them immensely, so was very much looking forward to this story, first published in 1935. Once again, the detecting is done by Rowland’s regular sleuth, Inspector Shelley – though much of the story is related from the viewpoint of our main protagonist, Margery Latimer. A secretary who lives in a boarding house in Bayswater, she’s awakened one night by a scream outside her window. Peering out, she sees a man hurrying away from a car and down the street; and the arrival of the police reveals that she has been witness to a murder. The authorities are baffled, but Margery is flummoxed the next day when she arrives at work. Her employer, Mr Bellingham, a man who’s been her guardian for most of her life, seems agitated; and he explains he’s about to retire, and encourages her to take up new employment.

The outfit he’s steering her towards is the National Anti-Speed Association, and the man running this is one John Cook. Imagine Margery’s surprise on meeting him, then, to find that he’s the man she saw running away from the crime scene the previous night. For some reason, however, she’s reluctant to reveal this to Shelley… Margery takes the job, but then another murder follows and Shelley begins to dig deeper. Margery herself tries to do a little investigation, but events become murkier and murkier, and she reveals more questions than answers! Why *is* John Cook really running the Association? Why is Mr. Bellingham behaving so oddly and very much out of character? When Cook disappears and the murders continue, events will become very dangerous for Margery, and the plot will be much darker than originally appeared…

“Bloodshed…” is an engrossing and very enjoyable read, and if I’m honest is not so much a pure crime classic as a criminal caper with thriller elements (which is how I felt about “Calamity..”) Rowland seems to enjoy pairing his detective with a member of the public who’s swept up in the action and tries to do a bit of detecting, and that works well here. Margery is a plucky and winning heroine, obviously somewhat smitten with Cook and determined to prove his innocence, and so this of course puts her at odds with Shelley at times. There are plenty of red herrings, a likeable office boy, some ruthless criminals and an unexpected motive behind all of this!

As for the solution, well I did and I didn’t see it coming! Rowland plays fair in many respects, and I suspected one particular character from hints he placed during the narrative – although my suspicion of their guilt didn’t reveal the whole story behind their motivations. The reasons for the murders were something I didn’t pick up on, as these are much more complex than seems at the start of the book; and what seem to be killings from some kind of fanatical reason actually have a bigger plot behind them. There’s plenty of excitement as the mystery builds to a climax. and the big reveal is very satisfying (although you *do* have to be prepared to accept some elements which might not be so convincing nowadays).

Some of Galileo’s recent releases

So “Bloodshed in Bayswater” really hit the spot. It’s an engaging and entertaining mystery thriller, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, and plenty of pace, which did keep me hooked until the end. The criminals really are baddies, there are clandestine organisations, petty crooks, plodding and not-so-plodding policemen and, all in all, I enjoyed re-encountering the writing of John Rowland. I don’t know what else of his is currently in print, apart from the three titles I’ve mentioned, but I shall certainly look out for more of them!

(Review copy kindly provided by the publishers, for which many thanks!)

“…in a tourist town, discretion is everything…” #thekingandthecorpse @Galileobooks

One of the presses I’d hoped to get to during #ReadIndies in February was Galileo Publishers; a recent discovery, they’re a Cambridge-based outfit who specialise in re-issuing Golden Age crime, and they’ve been kind enough to provide several titles for review. All of them sound fascinating, but when I was casting about for my next read, one particular book caught my eye – “The King and Corpse” by Max Murray. With its stylish cover and its Riviera setting, it sounded like the perfect escapist read I was craving – and it really was!

Murray is an author I hadn’t come across before, and he was an Australian journalist who, after a stint on a Sydney newspaper, travelled around the world doing a variety of jobs. As well as working for the BBC during WW2, he wrote a number of crime novels, including eleven which contained the word ‘corpse’ in the title. This particular volume is the second in the sequence, and gets straight into the action from the very first page!

Anthony Tolworth is sidekick, social secretary and general factotum to Rudolph, the exiled king of Althenia. The entourage, aboard the royal yacht, is anchored on the Riviera and Tony stumbles across a body on the beach. This turns out to be the notorious Leonardo Manetti, known for his dodgy dealings and a bit of a bad lot all round. The authorities are initially inclined to cover up the death, until an envoy arrives from Althenia; for it turns out that Manetti was one of their citizens and they want the murder investigated. The police are promptly put on the case, but it turns out that one of the main suspects is the lovely Eve Raymond, with whom Tony is rather obsessed…

Needless to say, Tony is drawn into trying to investigate and get to the truth. Complications ensue when Rudolph also appears to be rather taken with Eve; Tony summons his formidable Aunt Ethelreda, a school headteacher from London, who wants to investigate herself; and two bright-eyed young boys from her school turn up on holiday on the Riviera, and are intent on getting in on the action. However, there seem to be a plethora of suspects, with many people happy to see Manetti dead. But what *is* his connection with Rudolph and Althenia? How is Eve’s somewhat reclusive father involved with Manetti, and why does he seem familiar to Ethelreda? And how will things pan out for Tony, Eve and all with an interest in Althenia?

I have to say that Murray tells a lively, witty and very entertaining story; this book was a real treat to read! There’s humour and snappy dialogue, plenty of action, a smattering of romance, and the characters of Ethelreda and the boys Roger and John added a wonderfully funny aspect to the mystery. There were a good number of red herrings, the Riviera setting was beautifully conjured and I found the book a perfect piece of escapist reading. Tony himself, the nearest we have to a formal detective, was an engaging protagonist and a great foil to the rather pompous Rudolph (who, rather unexpectedly, has a sideline in selling cars to make ends meet!)

As for the mystery, no, I didn’t guess who was the murderer before the reveal! The ending of the book was very satisfying, with order being restored and a suitable destiny arranged for all. “King…” is a well-written book, and although it has the central murder and mystery, the lives of the characters and their pasts and futures are given plenty of space to develop, which made the story even more enjoyable. On the basis of this one, I’m really keen to read more of Murray’s mystery books, and well done to Galileo for making his work available again!

Review copy kindly provided by the publisher, for which many thanks!

Ghosts, murder, madness and multiple suspects! #GACrime #CliffordWitting #LetXbethemurderer @Galileobooks

As I’ve hinted in the past (or indeed come right out and said!), for me, it’s all about the right book at the right time. Last week, I shared my thoughts about “Walking the Great North Line”, a book which came into the Ramblings and bypassed Mount TBR. Today’s book is the same; it arrived just when I needed the comfort read of Golden Age crime and it had me captivated from the start! The book is “Let X Be the Murderer” by Clifford Witting (a title I’ve seen popping up on #BookTwitter recently) and it really hit the spot!

A lot of my GA crime reading is from British Library Publishing, in their Crime Classics range; however, Witting’s book is from a name new to me, Galileo Publishers, based in Cambridge. They made contact and asked if I would be interested in receiving review copies, and as a GA crime lover the answer was always going to be ‘Yes!’ Witting is an author they seem to be championing, and I was keen to make his acquaintance, as he’s not been on my radar before; and on the basis of this book, I definitely want to read more!

“Let X…” is one of the titles in Witting’s series featuring his serial detective, Inspector Charlton. First published in 1947 and set in the fictional town of Lulverton in Downshire, placed somewhere on the South Downs, the book opens with Charlton’s side-kick, Detective Sergeant Bert Martin, taking a call from a local dignitary, Sir Victor Warringham. The latter makes the outrageous claim that a ghost attempted to strangle him in the night; and though this outlandish remark is not really taken seriously by the police, they attempt to call on Sir Victor at his country house of Elmsdale, since he *is* such a dignitary.

However, the setup at Elmsdale is odd; housekeeper Mrs. Winter is fiercely protective of Sir Victor, preventing access to him; she’s also obviously at war with the Harlers, Sir Victor’s son-in-law and his second wife. Also present in the house is young John Chapman, the housekeeper’s nephew. And lurking in the background are a variety of other characters including slippery Raymond Valentine and Tom Blackmore, a loner who’s the son of an old friend of Sir Victor. Add in a dubious doctor, accusations of madness, tragedy from the past and mysterious motives, and you really do have the recipe for an engrossing mystery.

As I mentioned, Charlton and Martin attempt to visit Sir Victor but can’t gain access; the household claim to be concerned about the old man’s sanity, and specialists have been called in. However, so have solicitors, with hints of Sir Victor wanting to change his will. Bits of information about the household seep out and to the ears of the police, particularly through the innocent observations of young John. But before the police can really make much headway into what’s going on, tragedy strikes in the form of dramatic murder. However, all is not as it seems, and it will take all of Charlton’s ingenuity to get to the bottom of the mystery, untangle all the threads and bring the murderer to justice!

I have to say that this really is a twisty and clever mystery, and most entertaining. Witting cleverly shifts his narrative viewpoint, letting us into conversations amongst various characters, witnessing some of their actions, and by giving us these glimpses he actually really does lead you up the garden path! This is one of those GA murders I love, with a story which draws from actions in the past – in this case WW2, as the book is set just after – and there are so many McGuffins! And the title is most apt, as frankly I went through any number of suspects but still didn’t get the right answer until the book went into its final reveal a few pages from the end! I worked out some of the elements – and I think Witting expected the reader to do so – but the actual culprit was certainly not who I was expecting.

As for the detecting duo, Charlton and Martin are an engaging pair (though I could have done without the latter’s rather hackneyed working class speech…). However, they’re well painted, and Witting shows the duller side of detecting, allowing for all of the forensics to be done, the plodding round shops checking up on leads; and the sheer level of detail needed to follow through physical clues. Interestingly (and this is one of the later books in the series I believe) there is mention that Martin is nearing retirement, and time is given to a younger member of the team, Peter Bradfield, who goes off on the vital search for evidence in the latter part of the book. He’s a likeable character, and I wonder whether Witting planned to (or indeed did!) introduce him with a view of developing him in later stories.

Really, there’s so much to relish about “Let X Be the Murderer”! Witting writes well, captures his characters and setting really well, creates a brilliant and twisty plot, introduces plenty of drama and humour, and certainly managed to bamboozle me with his mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, ripping through it in a couple of settings just when I needed some GA escapism, and I’m so glad to have had the chance to read it.  I really am struggling to understand why Clifford Witting has been allowed to languish in obscurity so long, so kudos to Galileo for reissuing his work. I’m absolutely delighted to see that they’ve released several of his titles (as well as a couple by another author new to me, Joan Cockin); I’m obviously going to have to investigate his books further! 😀

(Review copy kindly provided by the publishers, for which many thanks!)