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An English Murder
Feb. 10th, 2019 04:25 pmBook Review: An English Murder, by Cyril Hare
This was recommended to me prior to it turning up in a work book sale, a reissue of a book originally published in 1951. This seems possibly a little late for the "Golden Age", though it fits quintessentially into the genre, with a stately home in ill repair due to straitened family finances, an elderly aristocrat on the verge of death, cousins with implacably opposed politics (one a socialist Chancellor of the Exchequer, the other a leader of the fascist "League of Liberty and Justice"), a butler who is clearly hiding something, a Foreigner - a central European academic Jew who is too observant and perceptive by half, wives and lovers. The politics rings true of its era, which raises pause for thought in our contemporary world. The house is cut off due to a blizzard when one of the house guests drops dead in suspicious circumstances. As the Chancellor's police protection, Sergeant Rogers must investigate for himself, as the telephone lines are down. It's difficult to pinpoint anything particularly original about the novel - it's packed full of tropes, which is of course part of the fun - but it's very well written and considered, with clever twists and turns, and the conclusion reveals a double meaning to the title.
This was recommended to me prior to it turning up in a work book sale, a reissue of a book originally published in 1951. This seems possibly a little late for the "Golden Age", though it fits quintessentially into the genre, with a stately home in ill repair due to straitened family finances, an elderly aristocrat on the verge of death, cousins with implacably opposed politics (one a socialist Chancellor of the Exchequer, the other a leader of the fascist "League of Liberty and Justice"), a butler who is clearly hiding something, a Foreigner - a central European academic Jew who is too observant and perceptive by half, wives and lovers. The politics rings true of its era, which raises pause for thought in our contemporary world. The house is cut off due to a blizzard when one of the house guests drops dead in suspicious circumstances. As the Chancellor's police protection, Sergeant Rogers must investigate for himself, as the telephone lines are down. It's difficult to pinpoint anything particularly original about the novel - it's packed full of tropes, which is of course part of the fun - but it's very well written and considered, with clever twists and turns, and the conclusion reveals a double meaning to the title.