Mysteries Ahoy!

I feel a little sad knowing that having now read Crofts’ fourth and final inverted mystery that no more will await me. Happily though I can say that I did save the best to last as The Affair at Little Wokeham or, to use its American title, Double Tragedy is my favorite of Crofts’ efforts in this field [Update: 9/21/19 – Apparently there is at least one other inverted mystery novel, Anything to Declare].

One of the things I am most impressed with is that Crofts does something different with each of those four mysteries, lending each its own unique feel. What sets this novel apart is that it is told from a number of different perspectives and that we are not sure at first which of the characters will be the one to kill Clarence Winnington. Indeed, the only thing we know in reference to the crime from the early chapters of the book is that a physician, Dr Mallaby, has aided the murderer in some fashion and is feeling a profound sense of guilt and professional shame but even in that case all may not be as it seems.

Mallaby has been a resident of the area in which this is set for some years, finding his situation in a small country medical practice to be comfortable but unrewarding either monetarily or in terms of satisfaction, considering himself a failure. Life in the village is fairly static and so there is much excitement when the locals learn that Clarence Winnington and his family have purchased one of the vacant large houses and are moving in.

The aging Doctor is among the crowd who first go to welcome the family to the area and while he intends to only give a short hello and be on his way, he is charmed to be asked to tea and soon starts making repeated calls to the house. He is charmed and enchanted by one of Clarence’s young nieces and though doesn’t believe that she could possibly return his affections, he does notice how unhappy she seems to be living with her uncle and starts to wonder if he she might accept him after all.

What Mallaby does not know is that she, her married sister and brother are all named as beneficiaries in the case of Clarence’s death and that she would stand to inherit some twenty thousand pounds. He first learns about this from her drunken brother early on the evening on which, by chance, that uncle will be found murdered and is utterly appalled, fearing that she might think he was interested in her for the money. He intends to withdraw his proposal of marriage to save her any embarrassment but before he can do so he learns that the old man’s body has been found in his library, beaten to death with a lead pipe.

I do not want to share much more about the story beyond Mallaby’s experience of these events because a huge part of the enjoyment of this book is in seeing how Crofts develops his story, figuring out which character will kill Clarence, why and also how Mallaby will perform that cover up that is referenced at the start of the novel. While I enjoyed the whole novel, these early chapters are particularly satisfying as we may wonder why the doctor would risk his professional reputation and the possibility of going to jail as an accomplice to murder.

The reason that I have focused so much on Mallaby is that the character and their role in this story is, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the novel. The doctor’s involvement in these events complicates them as, while we know he played no role in performing the killing, what he says will have a significant impact on French’s investigation. Knowing exactly how he has influenced the investigation means that we are already far ahead of the sleuth so the question will become how will French recognize this misdirection and reason his way to the correct solution?

While one of the characteristics of the Crofts inverted mysteries has been a reduced role for his series sleuth, the multiple perspectives approach adopted here allows him to get involved much more visibly in investigating the crime. As always, Inspector French approaches the investigation with an exhausting attention to detail, using reason and logic to try to explain each element of the crime but because Crofts is frequently shifting perspective, we get to see the case from multiple perspectives which helps to keep things interesting.

The second half of the book focuses on the killer’s attempts to cover up their involvement in the crime and while their plan is far from the most ingenious Crofts has devised, that honor going to Antidote to Venom, I think it has some very interesting moments. Part of the reason for this is that Crofts does not indulge too heavily in attempting to justify the killer’s actions the way he did in his previous inverted stories. This person does not perceive themselves to be the hero of their own story and so the passages where they reflect on what they have done are less melodramatic than in his previous works.

Instead of focusing on the killer’s emotional journey, our focus is drawn to the choices they make and of the plans they devise. This contrasts nicely with the scenes we see from French’s perspective and makes their relationship feel more antagonistic in spite of the fact they probably spend less time interacting than the villain and sleuth do in any of Crofts’ other inverted stories. Though their plan is not breathtakingly smart or original, the killer has the same methodical approach to committing their crime that French has in solving it.

It is that sense of balance within the narrative that I think is why I found this the most successful of Crofts’ four inverted mysteries. Between the frequently changing perspectives, the cat and mouse game being played by killer and sleuth as well as the introduction of a likeable supporting character who finds themselves drawn into the case, the book offers multiple points of interest and avoids repeating itself too much.

Sadly it is currently out of print but I do hope that with more of Crofts’ works becoming available again in the past few years that someone will choose to publish this one again. I certainly think it deserves to be rediscovered.

Vintage Mysteries Challenge: Death by blunt instrument (How)

This book was released in the United States as Double Tragedy.