Two mysteries by unexpected authors

One of these I discovered by accident, browsing I no longer remember where, while the second I learned of from Yvette over at her blog, In So Many Words.  One of her regular features is a commentary on a forgotten book and this was one she mentioned.  I was so intrigued by the author and the subject that I immediately searched out the book.

I do reveal significant plot elements and developments.


C. P. Snow
Death Under Sail
Mystery Type:  talented amateur
Setting: England
Time:  1930's

C. P. Snow was a distinguished physicist and novelist, best known for his lecture The Two Cultures, in which he laments the gulf between scientists and "literary intellectuals."  According to Snow, it was the job of the literary intellectuals who were supposed to make science available to the non-scientific world, and they had failed to do so.  Snow is also known for his series of novels collectively called Strangers and Brothers,  which  concentrated on "depicting intellectuals in academic and government settings in the modern era."  Consequently it was a surprise when I stumbled across Death Under Sail a short  time ago, especially since it was his first published novel. (Quotations from the Wikipedia entry on C. P. Snow.)

Several nights ago I watched a dramatized version of P. D. James Death in Holy Orders.  It also included a short film of P. D. James discussing writers and settings.  She talked about mystery writers and what they do when setting up and writing a story.  One of the points she brought up was that it was very useful to set the story so that there were only a limited number of suspects.  The English country estate is a classic setting for many mysteries.

C; P. Snow was well aware of this for he set his mystery and murder on a small private yacht, with only six people aboard, all of whom, supposedly, were friends.   But, as in all good mysteries, the surface view bears little relationship to the real situation.  Roger, the host and owner of the yacht, has invited five of his friends about his yacht for a cruise. And, it is Roger, who is murdered, by someone he considered a friend.

He is found one morning at the tiller of the yacht, dead from a gunshot.  No weapon can be found, but some items, a cord and the ship's logbook, are missing.  Since no gun could be seen and autopsy showed that he died instantly, suicide was ruled out.  However,  I would suggest that fans of Sherlock Holmes might recognize the situation as being similar to one of his cases, "The Problem of Thor Bridge."  So, I was sure that I had cracked the case, very early on.  However, as the story progressed, the situation became more complex and I began to have doubts, still convinced though that it would turn out to be a suicide.

The crime actually was not solved by the police, although the office in charge, blessed with some unusual characteristics, wasn't as dumb as the others thought.  The narrator, a late arrival on the yacht, persuaded the others to invite a friend of his, Finbow by name, to join them on the yacht.

Finbow was a civil servant in the diplomatic corp who had spent considerable time in various obscure places about the planet.  But what was most important was "his only passion--the watching of men and women as they performed their silly antics for his amusement.  He watched in a curious, detailed, scientific way;  I  remember the astonishment I felt when he told me more than I knew myself about an absurd romance I had whilst I was in China. The chief impression which he made on me was of an amused and rather frightening detachment."  I think there's definitely a Sherlockian flavor here.   The narrator's idea, of course,  is that Finbow would be able to identify the killer.

While dragging the river at the point where the murder had been committed, the police found the gun tied with the missing cord to the missing heavy logbook. But, as Finbow points out,  the question is, therefore, whether Roger committed suicide and tried to make it look like a murder so as to get even with those aboard the yacht, or was this a murder which was first set up to look like a murder, but eventually would be revealed to be a suicide, and therefore allow the killer to go free.

The major disappointment is this:  I wish C. P. Snow had written at least one more mystery featuring Finbow.

Recommended for those who have enjoyed  C. P. Snow's novels and would interested in reading his first novel; for those who enjoy the more cerebral type of mystery; and for those who enjoy the mysteries of what is called "The Golden Age" of mysteries.


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T. H. White
The Darkness at Pemberley
Mystery Type:  first part is police procedural; the second part is thriller.
Setting:  first part at Cambridge University; the second at Pemberley Estate in Derbyshire
 Time:  the 1930s


Having just read P. D. James novel, Death Comes to Pemberley, I had to read this one when Yvette featured it on her blog:  T. H. White?   the author of one of my favorite fantasies--The Once and Future King.    Coincidentally, it was published in 1932, the same year that  C. P. Snow first published Death Under Sail.  This was White's second or third novel.

And, yes, Pemberley is the marvelous estate that Lizzy Bennett thought being mistress of would be wonderful.  The present inhabitants of Pemberley are Charles and Elizabeth Darcy, brother and sister, who are descendents of THE Lizzie and Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.

Part One takes place at barely disguised Queen's College, Cambridge and is a traditional police procedural.  Several murders have been committed, one of which takes place in a very ingenious locked-room setting.  Mr. Beedon, a history don, was found dead with a gun nearby in a  locked room,  That gun was later found to be the same gun that had killed a student at about the same time, and, therefore,  it seemed clear that Beedon had killed the student and then committed suicide because of guilt. 

Inspector Buller, of the Cambridge police, was not satisfied.  for there were several anomalies, one of which was that Beedon, it was later discovered, had died first.  The first part,  therefore, is of Inspector Buller's investigation in which he finally works out the identity of the killer.  Unfortunately, he lacks proof, but he informs the killer that he is known, hoping I suppose, to dissuade the killer from committing any more murders because the police are now aware of him.

It is at this point where the novel gets strange.  Buller is invited down to Pemberley for a vacation and participation in war games, with small, but very real, cannons.  It was a passion of Charles Darcy.  Buller had met Charles and Elizabeth Darcy several years ago on a vacation trip.  He had been driving by the estate when his front tyre was destroyed by a cannon shell that came over the wall.  Invited in while his tyre was replaced, he became friends with the Darcys, and eventually fell in love with Elizabeth.  Being a police officer, he was of a much lower social status than the Darcys, even though Charles had a prison record, and Buller, therefore, considered his situation hopeless.  But, being fiction, I could only wonder just how hopeless his situation was.

Buller tells the Darcys about his last case and that the killer, even though known, couldn't be arrested for the two murders.  Charles Darcy, a bit on the headstrong side, goes to Cambridge and  confronts the killer.  The killer immediately decides, once Darcy's connection to Inspector Buller is revealed, to kill Darcy for revenge and to show Buller just how helpless he is.

At this point, the novel turns into a thriller in which Buller desperately attempts to keep Charles alive.  It soon becomes clear that the killer has somehow managed to invade the Pemberley mansion and seemingly moves freely about the place regardless of the efforts of Buller and the estate staff, all of whom are devoted to the Darcys. Buller knows, though, that it's just a matter of time before the killer tires of the game and will move to kill Charles.  But, where is the killer hiding and how can he move about the mansion without being discovered?

Overall Comments:  it's a strange mix of cerebral mystery and an action-oriented novel   What makes it even stranger is the tie-in with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.   For those looking for something a little bit different, I would recommend this one.

While I no longer have the room to keep everything I read,  I have decided that these two are keepers.

P. D. James: Death Comes to Pemberley

P. D. James: Death comes to Pemberley, a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (P&P)

Normally I ignore sequels to classics, but P. D. James is one of my favorite mystery writers. Many of her novels feature a large house, either occupied for centuries by the family or possibly long since turned to other uses: a nursing school, a laboratory, or even a publishing house. As the largest estate in the county, Pemberley would be a perfect setting for one of her stories. In addition, in an interview James said that her favorite author was Austen and she thought that, if Austen were alive today, she would be writing mysteries. So, I had to break a long-standing tradition and, at least, start it.

The novel opens with a prologue summarizing the significant events and introducing the major characters in Pride and Prejudice. James then brings us up-to-date, for six years have passed since the end of what is probably Austen's most popular novel. We are told that Elizabeth and Darcy have two children and that Elizabeth's younger sister Mary is also married to the rector of a nearby parish. Kitty is still at home, the only one left and likely to remain unmarried. Mr. Bennet is a frequent visitor at Pemberley, while Mrs. Bennet is less so. Darcy, while having become more patient and tolerant over time, does have his limits.

It is Friday, October 14, 1803, the day before the most important social event of the year in the neighborhood of Pemberley, Lady Anne's ball, the annual ball held in honor of Darcy's mother. Elizabeth has spent the day planning and preparing for the event with the aid of the inestimable Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper whom she had met on her first visit to Pemberley with the Gardiners.

Now late in the evening, Elizabeth, Darcy, the Bingleys (who had arrived a short time ago), Col. Fitzwilliam, and Henry Alveston are gathered together after dinner. Alveston is the only one who needs an introduction to readers of P&P. He is a rising young attorney who has become an increasingly regular visitor to Pemberley, and it is fairly obvious what the source of attraction is. In fact, it is that same attraction that causes Col Fitzwilliam considerable discomfort.

Georgiana, Darcy's sister, is now of a marriageable age: she is attractive and an heiress of a considerable fortune, and she is no longer the shy, quiet young girl we had known. Six years of associating with Elizabeth may have contributed somewhat to that. For some time now, both Fitzwilliam and Alveston have attempted to engage her affections. While Georgiana has not yet made her choice, Elizabeth feels that Col. Fitzwilliam will be disappointed.

It is then that death comes to Pemberley, or at least a madly driven coach carrying an hysterical Lydia arrives at the front door. All she can do is cry out almost incoherently that her beloved Wickham is dead, murdered. After questioning the more rational coach driver, Darcy and the others discover that Wickham and Lydia were going through their usual routine. Darcy has forbidden Wickham's presence at Pemberley; therefore, Lydia is never invited. However, the usual procedure is that Lydia arrives unannounced with luggage while the carriage immediately proceeds onward with Wickham to the nearest inn, where he stays while Lydia enjoys the amenities of Pemberley.

Lydia has come for Lady Anne's ball and will leave after the ball is over. But, this time Lydia and Wickham were accompanied by Wickham's good and possibly only friend, Captain Denny. However, shortly after entering the woods surrounding Pemberley, Denny and Wickham quarrel, with the result that Denny left the coach. Wickham then follows him into the trees. Shortly afterwards, a shot is heard. Lydia becomes hysterical, and the coach driver, unarmed, decides it would be best to go for help and also take Lydia out of any possible danger.

Upon hearing the coachman's story, Darcy, Fitzwilliam, and Alveston decide to go back to the spot where the driver left off the two men. They were reluctant to interfere in a private quarrel, but the report of shots being fired persuaded them to to investigate. After stumbling about in the forest for some time, they are about to leave when they come across a clearing in which a body is stretched out on the ground. Kneeling before the body and covered in blood is Wickham, who cries out upon seeing him that this was his fault. Capt. Denny is dead. The result is that Wickham is arrested, and a coroner's jury decides there is sufficient evidence for a trial.

What follows is NOT a contemporary mystery. James is too wise for that. We do not see Elizabeth and Darcy chasing around the countryside searching for clues, following up leads, and interrogating witnesses and suspects. That is left for the authorities and Wickham's expensive defense attorney (you can guess who pays for him).

In the first place, neither Elizabeth nor Darcy have any experience in detecting nor would they have even considered taking such actions. Secondly, Darcy is prohibited from taking any part in the case for Wickham is his brother-in-law. Darcy is one of three magistrates for the county. If he were to get involved and Wickham released, then there would be a suspicion of favoritism. On the other hand, it was also known that Wickham in some way had earned Darcy's enmity, so if it was decided that Wickham be held over for trial, there might be a suspicion that Darcy had had his revenge. They had to separate themselves from any direct involvement in the case.

Much of the time in the novel is spent with secondary characters--various servants and their familes, Wickham, Col. Fitzwilliam, and even Mrs. Younge, whom readers may recognize as the governess who allowed Wickham to almost carry Georgiana off in P&P, the cause of Darcy's intense dislike of Wickham. It is "downstairs," to borrow the title of a popular TV show, where the facts of Capt. Denny's murder are to be found. And, not surprisingly, it is Wickham who is the cause, directly or indirectly.

This is not a contemporary murder mystery. Instead, it resembles much more closely a mystery novel written during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The solution comes through coincidental meetings, a deathbed confession, various letters, and a last minute frantic journey with important information that, if it arrives in time, could affect the outcome of Wickham's trial. It is not Jane Austen, but it does read like, at least to me anyway, like a mystery that might have been written in Austen's time.

James makes no attempt to imitate Austen's style; instead she gives the reader prose that is a bit more formal. Nor does she attempt to recreate Lizzie as Austen would have done. Elizabeth is no longer Lizzie, the young lady with the sharp tongue. She is now in her late twenties, the mother of two children, a wife, and the mistress of the largest estate in the area. She has a position to fill and has matured in the intervening six years.

James has inserted into the novel, which is mostly serious (murder is a serious business), some subtle bits of humour and an occasional sharp observation of her own. For example, at one point we read the following: And would she herself have married Darcy had he been a penniless curate or a struggling attorney? It was hard to envisage Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley as either, but honesty compelled an answer. Elizabeth knew that she was not formed for the sad contrivances of poverty.

Readers should also be alert to references to people who are mentioned but never make an appearance in the novel. Wickham at one point had been employed as a personal secretary to Sir William Elliot. He was fired six months later, possibly because of Miss Elliot's concern regarding Lydia's open flirting with Sir William, and also perhaps when she grew bored with Wickham's own attempts at flirting with her.

While I won't discuss the ending in any great detail, I should add that the final solution involved (surprise, surprise) considerable expense once again to Darcy, and the aid of Mr. and Mrs. Knightly of Donwell Abbey and her close friend, Mrs. Harriet Martin.

The novel ends, as do all of Austen's novels, with a final summary, some comments about the future, and a conversation between our hero and heroine regarding their own sometimes rocky relationship before it resulted in perfect happiness.

When I first decided to read Death Comes to Pemberley, I went to the library and borrowed a copy. However, about one-third of the way through, I visited Clues Unlimited, Tucson's local mystery bookstore. I figured I'd be reading it again, and I wanted my own copy.