Let the Man Die - S. H. Courtier

Supt. Ambrose Mahon comes to Corelia Bush Nursing Hospital to prevent a murder.  An anonymous note implies someone will die on night of May 11-12, the anniversary of a hatchet murder that took place 22 years ago.  Let the Man Die (1961) also features a ghost legend and weird activities that add a tinge of supernatural to the story. Red roses are mysteriously left beneath the portrait of a man who was accused of the murder and who later committed suicide in prison.  Along with the rose is a note: "No one sent roses the day I died." Whenever the ghost appears witness say it smells of the hospital -- an odd antiseptic or oil-like aroma lingers in the air after it vanishes. Suspects include a variety of oddball residents of the nursing home each suffering form a different ailment, the doctor in charge, and two nurses on staff.

With all the ghost business I can't help but think that this is Courtier's homage to Carr.  But also it must be a homage to Clayton Rawson.  Two of the  characters turn out to be magicians. A young woman named Estelle figures out how a card trick is done and Courtier goes to great lengths to describe how it works.  Another character is good at quick changes into street clothes. It is clear that illusion and trickery will figure in the plot and the reader should be on his toes the moment that magic appears. I know I was paying too close attention. And yet in the end I was thoroughly surprised in the the eyebrow raising final pages. It was bloody brilliant! Talk about misdirection. He nearly matched the master John Dickson Carr himself with a genius surprise.

And the ultimate retro touch:
a plan of the Nursing Home!

I don't want to discuss the plot of this very involved and multi-layered story with all the mysteries being traced back into the past. The story truly must be experienced with as little as known as possible. The unraveling and the slow reveals keep piling up on one another but the plot tricks never seem messy or convoluted.  Not only is there the murder and suicide of 22 years ago, there is another mysterious death uncovered, a possible suicide and loads of masquerade and illusions. For a book published in 1961 its remarkably retro. The book is teeming with Golden Age conventions and truly feels like a love letter to the plot heavy books of the 1930s and 1940s.

Hands down I think this is Courtier's masterpiece. Always a innovator when it comes to finding new ways to commit murders or set crimes in unique Australian settings, Courtier almost always remains very contemporary in motives and characterizations. Let the Man Die is very different. It is perhaps the closest Courtier came to replicating an old-fashioned traditional detective novel.

Unfortunately, it's very scarce and only one copy is available for sale online. However, I will be selling my shortly! I'll put it up as an auction because I know there will be lots of interest. Oh! Mine has the equally scarce DJ (seen above), unlike the other copy for sale.