Book Review: Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

Last summer, when I read A Woman Unknown (reviewed here), I vowed to go back and discover the Kate Shackleton mysteries from the beginning. Dying in the Wool is the first in the series, serving as a good introduction to Kate as well as being a very intriguing mystery that kept me guessing.

Kate has done some investigative work in the past, for families who want conclusive answers on why their men didn't come back from the Great War. The job offered to her by old friend Tabitha Braithwaite is the first where she accepts remuneration for her work and takes on an ex-policeman, Jim Sykes as her partner. Tabitha wants to know whether her father, who disappeared in 1916, is alive or dead as she's getting married and wants him to be present. Kate begins her investigations, finding most of the people she needs to talk to quietly uncooperative, but there are a few chinks in the village's armour and, as she finds them, the situation begins to unravel, though not without a few casualties along the way.

There's a little bit of scene-setting towards the beginning of the book, introducing Kate's father, housekeeper and general background. For the most part, it slots well into the narrative of Tabitha's request and, if this is indeed the first Kate Shackleton mystery you've read, then it's very useful information. I liked the characterisation of Kate in this first book, especially the way her investigative abilities and love of photography intersect and occasionally collide.

The pace of this works quite well. It's a cosy mystery with a few grisly moments and some sharp writing. I liked the fact that not everything was neatly tied up in a bow at the end and appreciated the characterisation of a few of the more odious villagers. They came across as distinctive, always a difficulty in this type of novel. There was also a delicious scene where Kate meets up with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'll leave you with one of her thoughts about him:

'I needed to divert Sir Arthur from his other-world views if there was to be an earthly chance of his talking sense.'

Book Review: The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet by Burton E. Stevenson

Although one in a series about a New York lawyer, The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet can stand alone. I haven't read the earlier stories yet the characterisation was fine and any references to other mysteries were brief and not crucial to the plot. Lester, the lawyer, is visiting the home of his client and friend, Philip Vantine, discussing the new cabinet Vantine has just bought but which has been accidentally switched for another one. The cabinet that has been delivered is worth much more and has a rich history. However, a visitor arrives and, after waiting in the room containing the cabinet, is struck down dead. An investigation starts up but then Philip Vantine himself becomes the next victim. Both seemed to have been killed by poison administered via two marks on the hand but it would be a very deadly poison. Who has killed the men and what role does the cabinet have in the case? The police try to investigate but it is Lester's friend, Godfrey, who is more open-minded and willing to put himself at risk to unearth the mystery.

As I said, this book can easily stand alone, though the references to earlier book made me want to read them. The friendship between Lester and Godfrey is a pleasant one, contributing to the case but also adding a focal point that I suspect runs through the books. As for the mystery itself, there are plenty of twists and turns and a few red herrings that make it interesting enough to hold attention. Perhaps the final twist was one too far but it did lead naturally from the rest of the book so I suppose it's difficult to complain on that point. There were a few twists that I saw coming but sometimes that's part of the fun of reading mystery stories.

However, for all the intricacies of the plot, The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet is laxly written in parts. There are careless repetitions which draw attention from the central mystery, at least for somebody paying as close attention as I was. Still, they don't impede the book as a whole, just create a little irritation. The mystery is enjoyable and the characterisation of Godfrey is a delight. I'll read the other books in this series, I'm sure.

Classic Film Review: Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)

 Murder on a Honeymoon is the third in a series about amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers and is the last of the films to star Edna May Oliver as the protagonist (I previously reviewed Penguin Pool Murder, 1932, here). Miss Withers is travelling to Catalina Island on a small plane with a few other passengers but when it arrives at its destination one passenger doesn't disembark - he's dead. Learning that the dead man was an informant against a gangster, Miss Withers' old sidekick, Inspector Piper (James Gleason), hops on a boat to help her out of what could be a sticky situation. There are plenty of twists and turns and some serious peril for our heroes in this one.

As with Penguin Pool Murder, I thought this was just wonderful. Edna May Oliver and James Gleason bounce off each other perfectly, with the mutual affection between Miss Withers and Inspector Piper coming through in their own grouchy ways. The characterisation of these two is ideal. Piper isn't the brightest and he also tends to rush into things whereas Miss Withers will hold her tongue and watch from a distance. Even so, her beliefs do put the pair of them in danger towards the end of the film and, even before that, she ends up tied up in a closet for getting too close to the truth. Although I had no real fear either character would be killed, there was the sense that some damage could easily be done in the final scenes.

The supporting cast is mostly unremarkable, with Lola Lane as Phyllis La Font probably the best of the bunch. There's a heavy reliance on stereotypes with the island doctor and police officer but since they're incidental characters it doesn't really impede the film much. The focus is on Miss Withers and her friendship with Piper as they solve the murder.

I can't help but think it's a pity this was Oliver's last portrayal of Miss Withers. The potent partnership between her and Gleason could've lasted a long time.

Classic Film Review: Penguin Pool Murder (1932)

Penguin Pool Murder stars Edna May Oliver as Miss Hildegard Withers, a schoolteacher sleuth who happens to be visiting the aquarium on the day a body tumbles into the penguin tank. This body belongs to unscrupulous stockbroker Gerald Parker (Guy Usher) who has just discovered his wife Gwen (Mae Clark) meeting with former flame Philip Seymour (Donald Cook). Suspicion naturally falls on those two with passing lawyer Barry Costello (Robert Armstrong) taking on defence of Gwen Parker. But Miss Withers throws herself into solving the case herself, much to the disgruntlement of Inspector Piper (James Gleason).

I adored this film. The case was intriguing enough, though I had my suspicions from the off about who the killer was, but the real delight comes from Miss Withers herself. She is a fantastic creation with the turn of phrase of Miss Gulch from The Wizard of Oz and the sleuthing skills of Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote, of course. An intelligent, sarcastic woman who refuses to take 'no' for an answer, she persists in showing Inspector Piper where he's going wrong. Eventually, he learns to defer to her authority and they form a nice little tag-team.

The rest of the cast is adequate enough. Once Piper accepts Miss Withers, the character comes into his own - think of it in terms of Sheriff Metzger in Murder, She Wrote but with a nice little twist at the end. I found Mae Clark as Gwen a little difficult but the majority of the male cast was acceptable. However, this was always Miss Withers's film and it shows. The mystery is good but the interplay is better - and there's a wonderful penguin involved too.

This is the first of three Miss Withers stories Oliver and Gleason made together. After this, the role was taken over by Zasu Pitts, who I didn't really enjoy in Sing and Like It (1934, reviewed here) and I can't see in the role of Miss Withers. However, Eve Arden did make a one-off appearance in the role in a television special in 1972 - given my love of Eve, I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for that one.

Ultimately, I loved this film because of Edna May Oliver - she's a character I'd love to be any day.

Book Review: The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katharine Green

The Leavenworth Case is told from the point of view of lawyer Mr Raymond as he gets drawn into a mysterious murder inquiry. Mr Leavenworth has been found shot dead in his library by his secretary, Mr Harwell. The house has been locked overnight and the only people inside were Harwell, the servants and Leavenworth's two nieces, Mary and Eleanor. The curious thing about Mary and Eleanor is that, simply by virtue of being prettier, Mary will inherit all her uncle's money. Does that give Eleanor or her sister the motive for murder? And why is one of the servants missing?

I enjoyed the plot of this book. I thought it was clever, though it felt a little static in the middle before Raymond set off on his mission to locate the missing servant. The resolution surprised me, though, and that's always a good thing with a murder mystery. However, about a third of the way into the book, I lost faith with the narrator and I found it difficult to recover from that. It was very difficult for me to accept that Raymond had not considered an alternative to one of his assumptions at all and, after that, I treated him as a guide but nothing more. I didn't see how he could've been so stupid to be honest.

The rest of the book was fairly good. The later scenes with Mrs Belden were very well written and, in truth, I felt more attached to her character than the narrator. Equally, the detective Mr Gryce was an excellent character, humanised by his gout that provides Raymond with an opportunity to follow up the case on his own. The complex relationships between the suspects are gradually drawn out, realistically so, but, again, I feel this hampered the middle section of the novel.

However, The Leavenworth Case works as a piece of detective fiction and is especially interesting as a nineteenth-century example written by a woman.

Book Review: The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

This first collection of Father Brown stories initially caught my eye after I watched the BBC series involving the character. Although I enjoyed it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that these stories followed an altogether different path. Each of them cover one rather compact mystery and are both interesting and evocative. We might not learn too much about Father Brown during them but his sense and talent for unravelling a mystery shine through, making him one of the best detectives I've come across, and certainly my favourite in short fiction.

This collection contains twelve short stories. The first, 'The Blue Cross', is probably the best known, although this focuses more on the detective Valentin than Father Brown himself. It actually works as an ideal introduction to the character and sets up what's to come perfectly. Valentin himself only appears in one more story but the criminal of 'The Blue Cross', Flambeau, reappears time and again, first as Brown's nemesis and then as his friend. This friendship is perhaps the one constant through the latter stories and works extremely well.

Out of these twelve stories a few lingered with me long after I had turned the page. 'The Secret Garden' is the second story featuring Valentin and comes to a dark and surprising - to me, anyway - conclusion. I also appreciated 'The Invisible Man', a story of warring lovers, because of the simplicity of the conclusion. In fact, most of these stories ended with me marvelling at the ingenuity of the author, wrapping up the obvious in the bizarre. It was a pleasure to merely read and not second-guess the outcome.

Atmospherically, my favourite story has to be 'The Sins of Prince Saradine' which begins with Brown and Flambeau on a small boat in the middle of nowhere. The vivid descriptions that haunt the beginning of this story outweigh what is still a very intelligent plot and make this the story that lingers in my mind.

I also enjoyed the difference of 'The Sign of the Broken Sword' which progressed in a manner not usual for this collection, with Father Brown piecing together the distant past instead of the present. The final story in the collection, 'The Three Tools of Death', was a fitting conclusion and one that made me eager to read the subsequent collections of Father Brown stories.

Book Review: A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody

This is another book I was drawn to because of the cover. I bought it not knowing it was the fourth in a series or that it was set in Yorkshire. I therefore got a very pleasant surprise when I opened the front cover. Finding good period mysteries set outside the capital is rather difficult but A Woman Unknown introduced me to a new series that specialises in it. I have to admit to getting very excited when the heroine hopped on a train to Wakefield Opera House and wandered a little around my home town in 1923.

So - the story! Kate Shackleton is a private investigator who is approached by Cyril Fitzpatrick because his wife, Deirdre, is acting strangely. He's chosen Kate because her partner, Sykes, caught Deirdre shoplifting previously and let her off. But Deirdre's 'secret' is that she is spending (non-sexual) nights in hotels with married men who are providing their wives with grounds for divorce. Unfortunately, on one occasion Deirdre wakes up next to a dead man and flees.

Everett Runcie isn't short of enemies. His wife, Philippa, is divorcing him and moving back to America; his long-term mistress, Caroline, may be put out when she doesn't feature in his plans and he's not proving the best asset to the family firm either. But who killed him? From investigating a person acting strangely, Kate suddenly finds herself searching for a missing woman while skirting around the edges of a murder investigation chaired by her ex-boyfriend.

With some mysteries I like to guess ahead but with this one I just allowed the tale to take me. The fluid, readable style of Brody made for an enjoyable ride. And I was relieved to discover that, although there are references to previous books, it's not necessary to have read them in order to understand and enjoy this one.  Of course, I did have a few criticisms, primarily that the narrator switches at different chapters with no discernible pattern. It can be a little disorientating at times but, really, that's a gripe. The book was very enjoyable and I will certainly be going back to learn about Kate Shackleton from the very beginning.

Book Review: The Carrier by Sophie Hannah

The Carrier is the eighth novel by Sophie Hannah which focuses on the same group of police officers and the case that is foxing them at the time. This time round it's highly complicated: Gaby Struthers is on a day-long trip to Germany for business when her flight's cancelled. When they are transported first to another airport then a hotel a hysterical woman, Lauren, latches onto Gaby, finally startling her with the news that an innocent man is in prison for murder. Gaby knows that Lauren's appearance can hardly be coincidental when she finds out that the murder victim was Francine Breary, the wife of the man Gaby loved and couldn't have.

I have to admit, I didn't find The Carrier as captivating as some of Hannah's previous books. However, there were many aspects of it that I did like. The first chapters dealing with Gaby and Lauren in Germany were excellent to read, both intriguing and funny. Gaby is a very honest person, a bit of a sarcastic snob, and that makes her fantastic to read about for the first third of the book. Lauren, equally, is a character who bounces off the page and remains a vivid character throughout as her relationships with her husband, father and employers are explored.

Perhaps one of the main difficulties I had with this book was the sense in the middle that things were being repeated far too often. Tim Breary's relationship with his wife is documented via several sources and that repetition felt a little redundant at times. It also seemed for a little while that we weren't getting anywhere, with other characters and the police finding out things the reader was already aware of. This was a necessary evil and it well may be that the problem was magnified by my eagerness to find out what was going to happen - never in itself a bad thing.

Did I think the ending was good? Most definitely, yes. Working out the truth behind Francine's death was as intricate as it usually is with Hannah's books but I was satisfied by both the discovery and the aftermath of the discovery. In addition, I thought the police elements continue to spread out beyond the (still excellent) central pairing of Charlie and Simon to explore some of the other detectives in a little more detail. Every novel with these characters feels like a butterfly gradually unfurling its wings and I can't wait to see where she takes them next.

The Cull of Male Detectives

I've just read this article about the BBC. In a nutshell, it says that BBC One controller, Danny Cohen, aims to limit the number of male detectives on television and, possibly, the number of crime dramas full-stop. Zen (something I admit I haven't watched) was axed due to this new policy. Apparently there are enough male detectives on television already.

I'm all for female-led drama. I covet it. I think it's true to say that I would be more inclined to give a programme a shot if it had a prominent female character BUT if I hear good things about something I don't avoid it simply because it has a male lead. There are so few good returning dramas around these days that I cling on to a good script or an innovative idea like a child clutching a prized toy. Zen attracted 5.7 million viewers on average for its three-episode run. In the current climate that is pretty damn good. Why should it be axed merely for some political correctness stunt which the BBC should be above?

Their remit is to be a public service. Yes, they have a duty to offer equal opportunities and to portray as many sides to our society as possible. But to axe a popular programme because it's another show with a man in it? Can you imagine if that was the other way round? David Cameron's 'calm down, dear' would be lost in the amount of mud Westminster would be slinging at the BBC.

Of course we need more female-led programmes on television. But, as with most things, if you try and force something into a box it just doesn't work. I don't know if the BBC are running around telling scriptwriters they must work on female characters but, if they are, they're shooting themselves in the foot. I hate television by numbers. I hate the inclusion of a token gay character or a disabled character or anything that reeks of people wanting to tick a box. As soon as you start doing that you lose the organic element of a narrative, the thing that popped into your head the moment you started playing 'what if'. I can tell you something; if a character pops into your head and he's fully formed with a family you can identify, flaws you can exploit and a firm story you can tell, it's not just a case of swirling him around, popping a bra on him and having the character be a woman instead. That works the other way too: characters cannot and should not be manipulated for the sake of political correctness.

So, my wish for the BBC? I'd like to see the main channels take a gamble on some of those fantastic programmes relegated to BBC3 and 4 where you have to be clairvoyant to find them. I'd like to see better scripts, tighter drama and riveting television. I'd like see fantastically-acted characters, male AND female. I don't want to see apparently good dramas tossed into the rubbish bin because they don't fit a perceived image.

That's what I want.