The Lake House - John Rhode

Misanthropic George Potterne is found shot in his back at his solitary retreat, a one room cottage known as The Lake House (1946) a five minute walk from his main house on the estate known as Melcote Priory. The weapon employed is an antique dueling pistol, one of two from a recently purchased set.  The case with one pistol inside is found at the scene of the crime, while the other is missing. Later, the second pistol is retrieved from a man-made lake not far from the cottage after Supt. Jimmy Waghorn has the water drained by opening a dam.

Potterne's wife Sylvia, who will inherit the bulk of his estate, is missing.  She was supposedly sent to France due to a health issue. Or so Potterne has told everyone prior to his murder. Police locate Sylvia Potterne living under an assumed name in a hotel in northern England.  She has left her husband for another man and was planning to divorce Potterne. Her husband was too proud to revel the truth; his name and reputation are everything to him.  He only married Sylvia to have an heir, but she refused to have anything to do with bearing him a child.

The Lake House is a thoroughly engaging, intricately detailed mystery with an abundance of good police work and clever detection.  The characters in this particular Rhode novel are -- for a change -- surprisingly complicated and seem true to life rather than stemming from Rhode's usual menagerie on stock characters and stereotypes.  Sylvia, a former actress, may seem flighty and superficial but has a scene where she has an emotional breakdown that is all too real, not at all artificial or stage-like. Potterne's right hand man, Mr. Naseby is another well drawn supporting character.  An overly cheerful man who was hired to manage Potterne's finances, Naseby is extremely helpful in sorting a bit of a mess with two different wills his employer drew up.  As Waghorn and his policemen continue their investigations the superintendent is intrigued by what appears to be Naseby's infatuation with Sylvia, a woman for whom he wants true happiness. Could he have killed his employer in order for her to inherit?  This is only one of the unusual motives considered in a murder investigation that has several unusal elements.

Also worth mentioning are Mrs. Titchmarsh, Potterne's only living relative, who disapproved of her cousin's marriage.  She didn't' think he was husband or father material. She offers many opinions, is intelligent and a bit tart-tongued in her assessment of her cousin. Mrs. Titchmarsh gives Waghorn a fuller, more accurate picture of who George Potterne was and why he was so disliked by nearly everyone - not just his wife. And there is the mystery man referred to by Sylvia as "Doodles" for most of the novel and whose identity presents a minor puzzle for the police. When Waghorn finally locates this man, a used car dealer, he finds that Sylvia is passing herself a off as his wife.  "Doodles" is a horrible liar and Waghorn has a hell of a time trying to get the truth from him. Eventually he becomes the primary suspect with a horrible fate awaiting him.

Curt Evans in Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery, his book length study of Rhode and other traditional detective novelists known for their purity of the form called The Lake House "bleak and mechanically complex." I would second that opinion. For a long time it seems as if Sylvia and "Doodles" are a doomed couple. But in the surprising finale Dr. Priestley and Harold Merefield, his loyal secretary (and son-in law, don't forget!) leave the staid Priestley manse and travel to the crime scene where the two stage a theatrical re-enactment of the murder presenting an alternative to what the jury's verdict in the climactic courtroom trial. It does, in fact, seem as if the novel with end with a happy ending. 

Harold pulls off an impressive piece of amateur acting in the role of the condemned man. Priestley, is also impressive in a literally death-defying performance as the victim. It's a theatrical scene, one not often found in any of Rhode's detective novels and made the entire reading experience of The Lake House more than worthwhile. The re-enactment succeeds tremendously and is the true highlight; ingenious in conception, entertaining and witty in culmination.

This is definitely in the Top 10 of the Dr. Priestley detective novels I've read. The story teeters on true tragedy while the investigation reveals the murder victim to be a cruel and sadistic man, obsessed with alchemy and antiques and collecting foreign stamps, indifferent to nearly all human beings. It's a fascinating, but grim study in abnormally obsessive behavior.  One can only sympathize with Sylvia as a victim of cruelty and we long for her happiness even if the man she has fallen in love with seems to be almost as hotheaded as Potterne.  Of course it is also the detective work which keeps the reader flipping the pages rapidly.  Waghorn, now a Superintendent at Scotland Yard, is determined to prove himself worthy of his new job title and position. He is admirable as both a leader and investigator,  In fact Waghorn is complimented three separate times by Priestley for his insight and intelligence.  The crime itself is a marvel of both cruelty and ingenuity.  Rhode is known for gizmos and gadgets and those readers who turn to the Dr. Priestley books for such old-fashioned detective novel gimmickry will not be disappointed. Notably, it's possible to arrive at the solution chapters before the re-enactment takes place in the penultimate chapter.

I was so happy to read a cracking good John Rhode mystery because my last attempt proved a bore. An Experiment in Crime (AKA Nothing But the Truth) began with an interesting concept, but the investigation of the crime was so dreary and repetitive that I couldn't finish it, closed the book, returned it to the CPL and didn't bother writing up a review.  The Lake House is absolutely NOT a bore. Most definitely worth seeking out. Luckily there are several copies out there (ranging from affordable to ridiculously pricey) in both the original UK edition and the US edition re-titled Secret of The Lake House. Currently, my copy is now for sale here. It's priced to sell. Happy Hunting! 

Death at the Helm - John Rhode

THE STORY: A fisherman and his son come across a small pleasure cruiser run aground a sandbar. Their shouts to whoever was piloting the boat were of no use and they sail out to see if they can rescue whoever is on board. No one is at the helm. But there are two passengers on board, a man and a woman, and both are dead. The boat is beginning to list and the fishermen leave to find someone to tow the boat off the sandbar and then call the police. Preliminary investigation finds that both were poisoned but identifying that poison and how it was administered will take quite a while. Suicide is considered until Jimmy Waghorn consults with Dr. Priestley who suggests that there are several possibilities other than suicide and murder should not be ruled out.

THE CHARACTERS:  Ted Farningham - brother to the dead man. A painter who has lots of information about his brother George and the mystery woman on board the boat.

Polly Farningham - Ted's wife who has a lot of opinions about who killed the two people. Knowing what she knows of George she absolutely refuses to believe in a suicide pact.

Hugh Quarrenden, K.C. - high profile trial lawyer who Waghorn soon learns has a wide knowledge about toxicology.  Husband to the dead woman. Stern, stoic, nearly emotionless he nevertheless loved his wife dearly. He knew of her affair and tolerated it seemingly. Is his stoicism a mask for a hatred that drove him to end the shame of infidelity by killing both people?

Collard - butler at Worsely House, the Quarrenden home.  Like all good servants he sees more than he will ever tell. Only when murder is introduced does Collard begin to talk about secrets Mrs. Quarrenden was none too good at hiding.

Sir Clarence Farningham - Father to George and Ted. Notably involved in the Purity Society, "pledged to unrelenting warfare against adultery in every aspect." He had no tolerance for his son's love affair. Possible motive for eliminating son and lover, ignominious sinners undeserving of living?

Sgt. Playfoot - the local policeman who makes the first investigation of the crime scene. Excellent detective skills. Collaborates with Jimmy Waghorn for the first half of the book.  A nicely done intelligent police sergeant for a change!

Jack Benover - Mrs. Quarrenden's devoted brother and George's co-worker at an international brokerage company. He and George were being considered for a promotion that would lead to a relocation to South America.

A variety of well drawn minor characters consisting of fishermen, shopkeepers, and two police forensic analysts. I particularly liked Isaac and his son, the fishermen who find the bodies; Mr. Wallis, one of the chemical analysts; and two shopkeepers in Little Huntley.

INNOVATIONS:  As Jacques Barzun comments in his Catalog of Crime entry for Death at the Helm (1941) this is one of the better Dr. Priestley mystery novels for clueing and detection.  Like many of the John Rhode novels the book is mostly a "howdunnit" with a large part of the story devoted to discovering the poison employed and exactly how it was ingested. There are two autopsies and multiple analyses of food and water taken from the grounded boat, the Lonicera. 

Interestingly in a side remark from one of the policemen, we learn that the boat is named after the Latin name for coral honeysuckle, one of the many bits of botanical trivia that flood the story. Botany features prominently, especially when Waghorn gets a tip that the poison most likely is a vegetable alkaloid. Mrs. Quarrenden picked several flowers while ashore in a short visit in a village called Little Huntley. These flowers were found in a broken vase that fell from the table where George and his paramour had tea prior to their deaths. Waghorn begins to suspect that somehow one of those plants might be poisonous and found its way into their food or drink.

Then there is the bottle of Hampden's Gin Blimp, a commercially prepared cocktail recently being marketed. Where did it come from? Quarrenden did not allow any alcohol in his home other than wine and sherry.  Cocktails and any alcoholic ingredients needed to prepare them were forbidden because he hated the idea of frivolous alcoholic concoctions and the new rage for drinking as entertainment. As the investigation continues the bottle seems to be the most likely method for introducing the poison. And yet the cork and cap were not tampered with. It's a quasi-impossible crime of sorts.

This was an engrossing story mostly for the intensive police work related to the poison. There is a bit too much of repeat visits to suspects who are encouraged to be more forthcoming. Several characters tend to hold back or deceive the police team.  Dr. Priestley appears in only three scenes in the latter portion of the novel in which he suggests how the murder was committed, including one in which he has Waghorn and Hanslet sample some whiskey that ends with quite a surprise for the policemen. In the end, as with many of the Rhode mystery novels I've read, the identity of the murderer is hardly surprising, but the manner in which the story wraps up does have a bit of a shocking finale.

EASY TO FIND? This one seems to be one of the most difficult titles to find among the Dr. Priestley detective novels. Only one copy is offered for sale online. I lucked out at a library sale this year back in the spring where I found a rebound copy of the 1941 US edition in pretty good condition. This title was not reprinted in paperback edition in the US and I don't know if there is one in the UK or Canada. A truly rare book, I'd say.  Perhaps try brick & mortar libraries or those online digital libraries I never bother looking at.

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.

FFB: Mystery at Olympia - John Rhode

THE STORY: Nahum Preshore was not particularly fond of cars so when he told everyone he was going to the Motor Show at the Olympia people were more than surprised. Surprise turns to shock when they learn he has dropped dead in a crowd of people near the Comet Car display. The autopsy reveals no obvious cause of death, but suspicion is raised when his maid is taken ill the same day. She's been eating his special stock of olives and the olives when examined turn out to have been poisoned with arsenic. Was Mr. Preshore poisoned too? Superintendent Hanslet takes over the case and uncovers a bizarre conspiracy and nearly nabs the wrong suspect. Leave it to Dr. Lancelot Priestley, professor of mathematics and wizard at solving baffling murders to reveal the real murderer.

THE CHARACTERS: Like many of the John Rhode mysteries Dr. Priestley plays only a minor role in Mystery at Olympia (1935). He listens with rapt attention to the story of Nahum Preshore's sudden death and becomes more and more intrigued when it is learned that there have been several attempts on his life. Hanslet, however, is the main detective in this case and he dominates the narrative. Aided by several policeman, lab technicians, and physicians he digs through the curious incidents involving a tainted inhalator, the shotgun wound on Preshore's leg, the poisoned olives, and the strange rules about no one using the rear entry in Preshore's house. He come up with some unusual theories portions of which prove to be true. There seem to be multiple people who wanted Preshore dead. Which one of the several suspects was successful in achieving that goal?

Was it Philip Bryant whose name keeps cropping up in all the interviews? Bryant was Preshore's lawyer and was privy to the contents of his unusual will. Was it Betty Rissington, Preshore's niece who was to be the primary heir to his estate? Could it have been George Sulgrave, a Comet Car salesman who talked Preshore into attending the auto show? Maybe Mrs. Sulgrave, a friend of Betty's, who seemed to be secretly plotting something with Betty? What about the servants in the Preshore household? Mrs Markle, the housekeeper was also in the list of legatees in Preshore's will and as a childhood friend she was to receive a sizable inheritance. Maybe Odin Hardisen who had a feud with Preshore over an unpaid loan of £1000. And what of Micah Preshore, the long lost step-brother who was supposedly living in Argentina? Had he returned to England without anyone knowing? Who was that woman that was overheard talking with Preshore in his forbidden study? No one was allowed in Nahum's private retreat and yet a lace handkerchief was found there one morning indicating the visit of a female with expensive tastes. Preshore's life was filled with secrets and motives for murder. Someone did him in and it takes some clever interrogation and gathering of evidence to ferret out the real culprit and uncover the real motive for his murder.

INNOVATIONS: There is always something ingenious or clever in a John Rhode detective novel. In this case (as with a few others) the story involves multiple attempts to kill a character and make the death look either accidental or non-violent. The idea of poisoning medicine is a detective novel staple, but only John Rhode would think of an attempt to poison someone with carbon monoxide by placing zinc and calcium carbonate in a inhalator. The chemical reaction of the two when heated would produce the gas and lead to suffocation. The actual murder method (which I will not discuss) is equally bizarre. Only when Dr. Oldland comes across an unusual citation in a forensic medicine textbook do the detectives consider the most likely means of Preshore's death.

Other than Rhode's trademark of bizarre murder methods Mystery at Olympia is rather a standard detective novel. It's one of Rhode's most straightforward tales, filled with a cast of interesting characters (the liveliest of the bunch being Odin Hardisen), a plethora of excellent clues and a satisfying if not so stellar finale. After all the complexities this tale of murder boils down to a fairly simple way of doing someone in and a time worn motive that should have been guessed at from the start.

Readers unfamiliar with Rhode would do well to start here. It's an excellent introduction to his style of detective novel with just the right amount of his trademark technical lectures and abundance of odd murder means. If Priestley only shines in the finale that is no real drawback; his solution and accusations are succinct and brilliant. This relatively early book (number 21 out of over 80) is one of the better in the very long series that tend to be middling to awful in his later career.

EASY TO FIND? Glory hallelujah, is it ever! After decades of no easily available John Rhode books Harper Collins have managed to reissue three of the Dr. Priestley novels and they are available in either paperback or digital editions. The new reprint of Mystery at Olympia was released for US purchase just this month after having been first released in the UK back in April. Those of you looking for a vintage copy will be hard pressed to locate the original UK edition; it's a true rarity. And keep in mind that the book was published under a different title in the US. Murder at the Motor Show was the revised 1936 title in order to alert American readers where the book was set and that cars and automotive engineering, frequent topics in Rhode detective novels, were featured.

Vegetable Duck - John Rhode

Around the middle of the 1940s Dr. Lancelot Priestley, John Rhode's professor of mathematics and sometime detective, became more of an armchair detective and less of an active participant in the intricately plotted crimes he encounters.  In these later books Priestley usually appears at the halfway point and serves as a consultant to the primary police detective. In the case of Vegetable Duck (1944) -- also published as Too Many Suspects in the US -- Priestley has only three scenes in which he makes subtle suggestions to Inspector Jimmy Waghorn. Priestley does one bit of dazzling detective work involving the mystery of an envelope with an inexplicable damp stain, but otherwise he merely entertains the police and forensic investigators at three different dinner parties and makes deprecatory remarks or frowns at Waghorn when he delivers his mostly wrong findings. But Waghorn is no dullard policeman, he picks up on Priestley's hints and finally gets it all right.

The book is almost an inverted detective novel. Waghorn does what so many real life policemen seem to do – they pick a primary suspect and become so obstinate in wanting that suspect to be guilty that they rearrange the evidence to fit the suspect conveniently overlooking things that "don't fit" rather than examining the true circumstances of the crime by including all of the evidence and using that to determine the proper criminal. On several occasions Priestley points out Waghorn's faulty reasoning and his fixation on one particular suspect who just happens to have a shady past.

There are multiple puzzles in this engrossing detective story. It's one of those rare detective novels in which the story is completely concerned with the solution of those puzzles with little filler action or the kind of local color usually found among the minor characters. The cast of characters is rather large as the story tends to shift locales frequently. Among the most interesting in the colorful supporting cast are Sir Oswald Horsham, the forensic expert; Frederick Massingham, a shifty private detective; Ellen, the garrulous cook and servant in the Fransham home; and P.C. Purbeck, a wily constable in the town where Charles Fransham relocates after his wife's death.

The murder investigation is primarily focused on the death by poisoning of Mrs. Fransham who dies while eating the vegetable duck of the original title. This is a dish of a large squash stuffed with mincemeat and vegetables. At first it is though that she somehow ingested food doctored with a prescription liniment for her arthritis that included two highly toxic ingredients. (I wondered what physician in his right mind would prescribe a medicine that seemed to be made up of nothing but poison, but this is dismissed by nearly everyone in the book. Strange.) The actual poison turns out to be the fairly innocuous digitalis, a heart medication which can be deadly in higher doses and fatal to someone without a heart condition. Savvy murder mystery readers will almost immediately pick up on the herbal origins of digitalis as I did and come to the conclusion that gardening and knowledge of plants will feature in the plot. In fact, one, of the characters is an avid horticulturalist and through him the reader learns all about raising vegetable marrows, specifically the unusual method a gardener employs to achieve super-sized marrows used for displays or to enter in gardening competitions. This method is exploited by the murderer in one of the many fiendish murder methods that are the hallmark of Rhode's books.

Waghorn's primary suspect is Mrs. Fransham's husband, Charles, who was involved in an accidental shooting that most people, including retired Superintendent Hanslet, believe was a disguised murder.  Hanslet provides Waghorn with the background of the shooting death revealing in the storytelling process the usual convoluted will in the plot. Money seems to be the central motive for the wife's death.  As the investigation unravels and becomes further complicated suspicion shifts to a little known son from Fransham's first marriage who had a less than loving relationship with his stepmother.  Waghorn refuses to heed Priestley's warnings of his rash behavior by jumping from suspect to suspect as he pieces the evidence against each man. Only in the final chapter does Waghorn see his folly and begin to pay attention to some apparently meaningless coincidences that turn out to be crucial to the correct solution.

Most of the book is deals with scientific experiments and discussion that reminded me of the best of R. Austin Freeman and J. J. Connington.  A trial and error experiment with test portions of the woman's final meal being injected into laboratory frogs recalled the elaborate camera experiment in The Sweepstakes Murder by Connington and a variety of esoteric scientific examinations by the brilliant Dr. John Thorndyke in Freeman's books.  But there is also an elaborate finale in which several characters are figuratively unmasked that made me think of some of the more outrageous denouements in Christie's work like Murder in Mesopotamia. There's a lot that will appeal to a wide variety of crime fiction readers in Vegetable Duck whether you like puzzles, scientific detection or endings that have an element of the surreal.

This completes the first part of my three part 2012 Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge sponsored by Bev at My Reader's Block. Links to the previously reviewed books are listed below.

Part I. Perilous Policemen
The Case of the Beautiful Body - Jonathan Craig
Murder by the Clock - Rufus King
The Death of Laurence Vining - Alan Thomas
The Moon Murders - Nigel Morland
Killer's Wedge - Ed McBain
Exit Charlie - Alex Atkinson
Murder in Shinbone Alley - Helen Reilly
Vegetable Duck (aka Too Many Suspects)

FFB: Peril at Cranbury Hall - John Rhode

The more John Rhode I read the more I am beginning to admire his skillful handling of certain aspects of the detective novel. His reputation of being a boring writer - one of the "Humdrums" - is truly undeserved. His best books can be found in the mid 1930s to late 1940s. Rhode's use of ingenious murder methods, diabolical death traps, and labyrinthine plots keep me coming back for more. Yet often Rhode lets his hand show several times. In Peril at Cranbury Hall (1930), for example, he has not yet acquired the talent for misdirection that is the hallmark of his contemporaries Christie and Carr. That is not to say that the book should be completely dismissed. There is more than enough here to satisfy most devotees of the traditional fair-play murder mystery novel.

Oliver Gilroy has recently been released from a seven year jail term for fraud. His half brother Arnold Gilroy, a lawyer, is engaged in acquiring an old mansion Cranbury Hall and its grounds for use by Dr. Richards and Professor Verclaes as a nursing home where they will cater to wealthy patients in search of the professor's anti-fatigue "miracle cure." The treatment itself sounds less like bona fide medicine at a nursing home and more like an elaborate con. Cranbury Hall will be transformed into something akin to a luxury spa/hotel designed to make the patients addicted to the comforts and indulgences like fine dining, massage treatments, and an enormous swimming pool, rather than the "miracle inoculations."

While Dr. Richards and the professor will handle the care of the patients, he tells Arnold that he will need a business manager and suggests Oliver for that position. Dr. Richards confesses that he also knows that Arnold has been manipulating the will of his dear departed Aunt Hilda and is planning to cheat Oliver out of his share of her estate. Armed with this knowledge and proof of the true will in a government registry open to the public (but unknown to Oliver) he blackmails Arnold into hiring his half brother.

Then a series of bizarre accidents befall Oliver and it appears that someone is trying to kill him. Dr. Priestley and Harold Merefield just happen to come across Oliver after he suffers a near fatal car accident – the third strange incident that nearly kills the ex-con. From Muriel Verclaes, the professor's daughter, Priestley and Merefield learn of the other accidents and Dr. Priestley is intrigued enough to investigate the possibility of foul play.

Rhode spends much time in letting the reader in on everyone's thoughts and actions prior to the appearance of Dr. Priestley who steps into the story well past the halfway mark. As the story progresses nearly every character will reveal a secret and his reason for killing Oliver. In fact, nearly everyone in the book turns out to be dishonest, a crook, or a cheat of some sort. There is an interesting use of the Iago-like power of suggestion too, put to great use in Christie's Curtain and by Rhode again in his superior Death in Harley Street (1946).

I was reminded of some of the less tightly constructed detective novels of George Bellairs and John Russell Fearn while reading Peril At Cranbury Hall. The clues are prominently displayed as if Rhode had spotlights shining on each one. There is no attempt made to hide anything, no misdirection, and no camouflage. Any sharp-eyed, attentive reader can figure out what's going on fairly quickly. This may be slightly disappointing to many readers, but perhaps a highlight for someone who has never solved a fair play detective novel. In other words, this is a great book for anyone interested in a training manual on how to solve a fair-play mystery novel.

For those who crave real puzzles there is a complex cipher that plays an integral part in the story. An entire chapter is devoted to the explanation of how the cipher works and there are ample opportunities for the reader to join Harold in decoding at least three different messages. However, you need patience and more of a mathematical mind than I have to understand how it works even with Priestley's detailed explanations. I attempted to try my hand at one, but gave up after about three minutes when I got mostly gibberish. I later discovered I misinterpreted the cipher rules and was inverting some letter pairs.

Finally, there is the puzzle of the fourth murder method -- the only successful one which dispatches Oliver Gilroy. Unfortunately, for me this was ruined on the title page of my reprint edition with an ill-advised illustration that gives it all away. Since I had read a murder method similar to what is used in an Agatha Christie novel the actual means was not as gasp inducing as perhaps it was intended. To echo something Patrick (At the Scene of the Crime blog) once said when he encountered a similar illustrated spoiler on an Edmund Crispin novel, there should be a special place in Hell reserved for book designers and illustrators who create these unnecessary ornamentations.

There is no denying that the death traps created in Peril at Cranbury Hall are the one of the main attractions of the novel. Rhode always is impressive in this regard. But it is Dr. Priestley's astonishing  revelation about the multiple murder attempts that truly makes this book one of Rhode's better accomplishments. This violation of one of Father Knox's Ten Rules for Detective Fiction recalls a book by C. Daly King and another by Agatha Christie, both too well known for me to mention outright without ruining what should be a real surprise. Although most of the many mysteries can be easily solved there is this final twist that may be Rhodes' crowning achievement in this particular book. While not on the same level as something like The Claverton Affair (so far the best Rhode I have read) I would say Peril at Cranbury Hall is well worth a read if you are lucky to locate a copy.

NOTE TO COLLECTORS & BOOK BUYERS: This is one of the more difficult to find titles in John Rhodes' prolific output. Although there seem to be two copies for sale at reasonable prices at a site in the UK, I found five other copies for sale on the internet and all of them are priced over $100. One without a DJ (the Dodd Mead first US edition) although described as FINE is, I think, exorbitantly priced at $225.

JACKET REQUIRED: Rhodes Less Taken

I'm perhaps a little late with this one as a follow-up to some good reviews of John Rhode's  books by my fellow vintage detective fiction bloggers: TomCat at Detection by Moonlight and Patrick who writes At the Scene of the Crime, but Dr. Priestley has been on my mind of late. I have about eight of his books all begging to be read. I've reviewed only one Rhode and one Miles Burton - Cecil Street's other pseudonym. He's deserving of many more reviews and much more attention than he ever gets. In the meantime, yet another gallery of vintage DJs and two paperback covers all from books featuring Dr. Lancelot Priestley.

Please click on the images for the full size. Forgive the rips and chips and creases. These things are damn old and I'm lucky to own some of them. Thankfully, they've managed to survive this long so you can all ogle and gasp in awe.

IN BRIEF: Tragedy on the Line (1931) - John Rhode

Fairly routine story about the death of Gervase Wickenden, a wealthy single man, and the battle for his fortune between his heirs - a motley group of nieces and nephews. His body found alongside train tracks not far from his home, the face crushed beyond all recognition, can only be identified by his clothing and personal effects. An inquest rules the death an accident. Enter Dr. Priestley who smells foul play. He and his secretary, Harold, discover a bullet hole in a fir tree opposite the accident site and are determined to prove that Wickenden was shot and that the "train accident" was done after the murder to obliterate any signs of a bullet wound.  It's a bit repetitive in the telling with lots of rehash and recapping as if it were a serial (This is a unfortunate practice of Rhode/Burton in his early books).

For me the best part of the book was the character of Nancy Wickenden -- an outspoken, no-nonsense, modern woman who dares to live with a man and remain unmarried. Her dialog is sparkling and witty. The scene where the uptight and conventional Supt. Haslet visits her apartment and finds a different man and woman (Nancy's brother and his girlfriend using her place in lieu of a hotel) in the apartment is hysterical from a 21st century point of view. Also, Wickenden's lady friend to whom he was engaged is a lively and modern character.

Priestley plays a peripheral role providing the police with the impetus to pursue the case then disappears into the background until the end when he serves as the murderer's confessor in the rather Anthony Wynne-like final chapters. The murderer, suffering from injuries received in a motor vehicle accident and with only hours to live, tells a long-winded tale of the past revealing Wickenden to be a sadistic rogue who allowed his seemingly devoted wife to suffer a cruel death when he tired of her. The crime turns out to be a vendetta years in the making similar to the one constructed by the killer in Queen's Tragedy of X. Even the most astute reader would never be able to figure any of this out and it's far from the kind of "fair play" plot expected from a writer who was a member of the Detection Club.

This was the first Rhode book I read from start to finish. My judgment is that he gets a raw deal as a writer whose books are boring. Tragedy on the Line held my interest all the way despite its unfair ending. I have also read The Claverton Mystery which is a remarkable detective novel on many levels. However, Priestley overall seems too intellectual and lacking humanity in a kind of Holmesian way for him ever to be one of my favorite detectives in the genre. Though I should add once or twice he shows a sense of humor in Tragedy on the Line and, at end of this book at least, exhibits a tender compassion.