The Bloody Tower - John Rhode

THE STORY:  Jimmy Waghorn comes to Lydenbridge to inform Inspector Appleyard of a gang of professional thieves robbing tobacco vending machines but ends up helping the Inspector with the unusual shooting accident of Caleb Glapthorne.  What at first appears to be a malfunction of a hunting rifle turns out to be a diabolically orchestrated murder with a doctored rifle cartridge filled with high power explosive instead of the usual smokeless powder. Waghorn eventually consults with Dr. Priestley who offers up a few suggestions and ultimately reveals the puzzling motive and the identity of the ingenious murderer.

THE CHARACTERS:  The Glapthorne family is headed by a dying patriarch Simeon who refuses to sell his crumbling estate to a handful of inquiring potential landowners.  He firmly believes in a strange prophecy that until the Tower on the family estate falls the Glapthorne family must remain on their land so that their fortunes will prosper.  But so far their money has been dwindling with no signs of achieving newfound wealth. He withers away in his bedroom rarely leaving and being attended to by two gloomy servants and his niece...

Joyce Blackbrook - devoted to her crotchety uncle , the one member in the household who seems to understand his odd personality.  Or at least she offers a bit of sympahty. She works as a clerk in a bookstore owned by...

Mr. Woodspring -- pompous, officious, enamored of the gentry.  H atns to but the GLapthorne land wiht the "ugly towe" so ha e can build a house there.

Ben Glapthorne --Younger son and brother to the murder victim.  He's a marine engineer and has been at sea on the ship Niphetis. Of all characters he seems to have a ironclad alibi for Caleb's death

 Chudley -- farmer with land adjacent to the Glapthorne estate. Had a recent physical fight with Caleb about use land and Caleb's frequent trespassing while hunting rabbits.  He even threatened to blast off Caleb's face which is exactly how he died.

Vera Chudley -- daughter sent away supposedly because she was carrying on an affair with Caleb.  Her mother vehemently denies this rumor.  Gossip says otherwise.

Horning & Mrs. Horning - the servants in the Glapthorne home. The housekeeper wife is a hysterical drunk.  Only person mourning for Caleb and alcohol is helping to aggravate her grief.  She literally wails and keens.  Her husband dismisses it with a laughable comment: "She's Irish."

Arthur Blackbrook - Joyce's brother. Lives in London. Rarely visits the family. he's married to a tarty, simple-minded woman.

INNOVATIONS:  Priestley appears at the start of Chapter 7 at exactly the halfway mark. He is most interested in a strange code that was found in the Glapthorne family Bible. This is the first time that the police discuss the weird code with odd geometrical shapes placed beside Bible quotes.  The quotes all refer metaphorically to wealth, foolishness, reputation and possibly love. One telling quote is "the gift of God...cannot be bought with money."  Priestley is most intrigued by an odd symbol that Waghorn says looks like a balloon shape. This code is later solved by Priestely and can almost be worked out by the reader based on a few comments made off-handedly.  Those who know their Bible well or who take the time to examine the quoted passages may catch on to the solution of the puzzle without ever really breaking the code. Ultimately, Priestley's breaking of this code will lead to some startling discoveries related to the true purpose of the "ugly tower" and the secrets it contains.

Moreso than other John Rhode detective novels The Bloody Tower (1938), in the US re-titled The Tower of Evil, has an overarching theme as in a mainstream novel. Rhode is most definitely commenting on family destiny and the illusion of nobility.  Simeon Glapthorne exhibits the hubris of a tragic Greek hero in his near worship of the Glapthorne lineage and also ironically is the most foolish member of the household for his steadfast belief in the prophecy. In the end we learn that Glapthorne wasted his life aspiring to something he could never attain for the family lost their money all while Simeon was too stubborn to heed the code created by his ancestor Thaddeus Glapthone back in the late 18th century. Had he done so perhaps all the prophecies might have been fulfilled.

ATMOSPHERE:  I've not read many of the Dr. Priestley mysteries but a handful of them I've read draw on elements of Gothic fiction. This may perhaps be the most Gothic of the Priestley detective novels. Rhode does admirable work in creating a sinister atmosphere using conventions and motifs that are the staples of true Gothic fiction: the crumbling house, the patriarch to whom family is all, the curse and ominous prophecy attached to the Tower, and the splendidly creepy descriptions of the barren landscape. When Waghorn first approaches Farningcote Priory, the name Simeon gave to his home, Rhode writes:

As the car turned in at the ruined entrance gates, the dilapidated stone pillars seemed to resemble the mournful sentinels of a shattered army. Beyond, the melancholy fir trees swayed and moaned like a troop of sombre mourners.

THINGS I LEARNED: Picric acid is discussed at length early in the book.  According to the plot is has multiple uses and was apparently easily obtained at a pharmacy for its medicinal uses primarily as an antiseptic and for treatment of burns. In the context of the story, however, picric acid is exploited for ite volatile properties as a high explosive.

Electra House is mentioned when the police are trying to confirm data associated with some telegrams.  This may have cropped up in some other detective novels of this era but I don't recall coming across the name. Electra House first opened in 1902 as the home for the Eastern Telegraph Company and moved a couple times in the years preceding World War 2.

EASY TO FIND?  If you like digital books, then O Happy Day! It's available in a Kindle version (see photo at left). It's been released under the original UK title but the publisher appropriated the US 1st edition DJ illustration from the Dodd Mead book retitled The Tower of Evil. Guess it looked suitably 21st century for a digital book.

But as for a real paper book... Now it's ridiculously scarce.  I don't know why this one wasn't chosen to be reprinted back when Collins reissued several of the Dr. Priestley books. It's fast moving, engaging and has several intriguing puzzles besides the "whodunit" aspect.  But good luck finding a used copy now. Only three hardcovers are out there -- two US editions all priced in the "collector's market" and one volume in French translation.  No paperbacks reprints were found for sale when I looked though they do exist. If you're persistent and like to haunt used bookstores you might be lucky to find the Collins White Circle (shown up at top of post) paperback reprint cheaply. My copy was a pristine White Circle paperback, but it's now in the hands of someone living in Wisconsin. I sold it three days after I finished reading it last month.