The setting is a castle-like mansion on a loch in Scotland. Inside her bedroom behind a locked door and latched widows, an old lady is viciously stabbed and dies of shock. Miss Mary Gregor was a woman full of virtue and generosity. Who would have wanted to murder such a good woman? And how could anyone have gotten to her?
An amateur detective is already on the scene. Doctor Hailey, friend of the first official to arrive, is in high repute among the elite in medical and criminological circles. But his observations are soundly rejected by the detective sent to investigate. The detective is a young man who puts all his faith in details. He is eventually replaced by a Frenchified detective in love with his own theories, which he manages to find evidence to support.
The contrast between the laid-back style of Dr. Hailey and the two frenetic and bullheaded detectives is very entertaining. Hailey believes in considering the character of victim and suspects, and as he follows this line, an amazing family history emerges...
Anthony Wynne, I learned from the short but excellent introduction, specialized in locked room mysteries and death by invisible agent. In this book he presents us with a cunningly contrived puzzle, made all the more gripping by the personal dramas of the characters. Love, pride and jealousy all come into play, as do the superstitious fears of the Highlanders who suspect the presence of vengeful supernatural beings lurking in the waters of the loch.
I loved Murder of a Lady, despite its unlikely contrivances. The personalities are all so engaging. The tense atmosphere in the old Scottish household is so well portrayed. And Dr. Hailey is such an old-fashioned charmer! I hope British Library Crime Classics will see fit to reprint more mysteries by Anthony Wynne.
No comments:
Post a Comment