10/29/15

The Baited Hook


"Why does fate play such tricks with poor, helpless worms?"
- Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur C. Doyle's "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1891)
Last week, I wrote a fervidly enthusiastic and laudable review of Harriet Rutland's debut novel, Knock, Murderer, Knock (1938), but now I've read her second novel and fear I might have over-praised her maiden effort – because Bleeding Hooks (1940) is the real-deal.

Knock, Murderer, Knock is an odd, quirky portrayal of the closed-circle of suspects with an eccentric cast of characters and a string of bizarre, grotesque murders with knitting-needles. On the surface, it's a classically-styled detective story with a clever plot straying from the beaten track. So, in that regard, it's very satisfying and attractive book for the experienced armchair detective.

Bleeding Hooks is a brightly written, colorful story with a plot strolling along a more traditional route, which is strewn with twists and turns. The characters toddling along a beautiful, evocative drawn Welsh setting and the double-layered explanation has a last-minute with a dusting of originality.

The backdrop of the story is Aberllyn, a quaint fishing village in Wales, where a picturesque inn stands, named The Fisherman's Rest, which is a snug, cozy place that can easily compete with the larger Lakeside Hotel and often finds hotel-guests on its doorstep – to "beg for a room" no matter how "small and poorly furnished."

Only drawback for the holidaymakers is having to put with Mrs. Ruby Mumsby: a vulgar, slug-like widow who'd "ran after anything in trousers" and the dread of the local ghillies (a fishing-and hunting guide). It's a small discomfort that seemingly sorted itself out when Mrs. Mumby's body is found at the side of a lake with a salmon fly deeply embedded in her hand.

Dr. Roberts determines death was caused by a combination of poor health and shock from the deep wound, which caused her heart to give out, but a vacationing Mr. Winkley harbors suspicion of foul play and discreetly starts to investigate the sudden death – assisted by a pair of "Bright Young Things."

Pansy Partridge and Vyvyan Gunn, primarily referred to be their nicknames of "Pussy" and "Piggy," enthusiastically throw themselves into the roles of amateur sleuths, which furnished the plot with a pleasant amount of layman detection.

In his introduction for the Dean Street Press edition, Curt Evans likened Pussy and Piggy to Tommy and Tuppence from such Agatha Christie novels as The Secret Adversary (1922) and Partners in Crime (1929). Which is a fair comparison. However, they reminded me of two other partners in mischief, namely Vanya and Lucinda, from Helen McCloy's marvelous Mr. Splitfoot (1968) with a dash of Kelley Roos' Jeff and Haila Troy.

Well, they go about their self-imposed task with the zest and zeal befitting of a pair of amateur detectives, but their poking around and questioning aren't making them exactly popular with their fellow guests – which eventually results in an attempt on the life of Pussy.

The cast of potential killers, by the way, consists of the owners of the inn, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Mrs. Mumsby long-suffering ghillie, John Jones. A veteran of the Great War, Sir General Courtney Haddox and his spinster sister, Ethel, who behaved suspiciously when the body was discovered. Pussy's mother, Mrs. Partridge. A couple, Mr. and Mrs. Pindar, who are affectionately referred to as the Pandas by Pussy. A prattling sport fisher, Major Jeans, who prefers to make his own fish flies and frequently utters "bleeding hooks," which gave the book its title. Mr. Weston and his young son, Claude, who's promising music-hall performer and quickly became my favorite character in the story, because I love magician-characters and magic-acts in detective stories.

So, while Piggy and Pussy are antagonizing or annoying everyone around them, Winkley has been far more subtle, which eventually gives him the opportunity to bait a hook, cast a line and patiently wait for a nibble – before reeling in the murderer. And it's quite a catch!

I also feel redeemed for having spotted the murderer and the motive, because in Knock, Murderer, Knock I only managed to get hold of a bunch of red herrings. However, Rutland did include a final pull of the rug that surprised both me and Mr. Winkley. I agree with John Norris, who reviewed the book under its US title, The Poison Fly Murder, that this final revelation makes the book somewhat of a minor masterpiece.

There's literally nothing I did not like about Bleeding Hooks, which is rare, because I can usually find something to nitpick about. But this one of those rare mysteries in which every aspect of the story seemed to co-exist in perfect harmony with one another. The plot, characters, background and atmosphere as well as the small, but interesting, tidbits about fly fishing and everything surrounding it made this easily (one of) the best reads of 2015.

I sincerely hope Rutland's third and final mystery novel, Blue Murder (1942), is able to hold itself up against its predecessor, because Bleeding Hooks is a tough act to follow. 

14 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful TC - well, with a review like that, I have to get it - another Chrstmas read sorted!

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    1. Well, you won't be bored this Christmas, Sergio!

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  2. You had me at Mr. Splitfoot and Kelley Roos! Sounds excellent, TomCat, shall absolutely check this one out.

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    1. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have, JJ. There are, alas, no impossible situations in this one, but, as I mentioned in the review, there's a wonderful magician-character in the story.

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    2. Yeah, I'm with you and love it when magicians feature in detective stories -- not even for the potential of impossible stuff, there's just something about that up-front chicanery that I really enjoiy. And something that's made out to be as good as you've made this sound doesn't need impossible situations!

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  3. This settles it - I'll start with 'Bleeding Hooks' first! And I still haven't touched 'Mr Splitfoot' and 'Frightened Stiff'' - both are on the TBR pile at home...

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    1. As long as they're within reach, you'll be fine. The Frightened Stiff is fantastic and recommend you'll rescue it ASAP from TBR. It is, IMO, an unsung classic that needs to be widely read among mystery fans.

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    2. My general view with a short series is just read 'em in order! Of course, if you've already read the reviews you know all about Mr. Winkley already, which is supposed to be a bit of a surprise in the first one.

      I think the ending of the second one could definitely generate some interesting book club discussions.

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  4. Of course Pussy would have thought Tuppence was altogether past it, but about this time she was having her moment with Tommy battling Nazis in N or M.

    Love Mr. Splitfoot by the way!

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    1. I'll never cease to be amazed at how little known and appreciated Mr. Splitfoot is, even among McCloy fans.

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  5. I'm reading this on your recommendation, along with HEEL OF ACHILLES, and THREEFOLD CORD. I had to check what date this was released, because although it was released in 1940, I could've sworn it was written at least five decades later. It's primarily the characters; I'm so used to Golden Age mystery characters feeling like foreigners to me, even supposedly "distinct" characters losing their voices in a mess of similarly affluent century-old Britishocity.

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    1. (did not mean to submit that so quickly, my Enter button is on a hair trigger...)

      This is one of the few books I've read from this period where the characters well-and-truly feel like and act like actual, real people with distinct voices I'd genuinely believe meeting in the-here-and-the-now. I rarely comment on character in my reviews, because I genuinely struggle to pick one apart from the other in any meaningful way, but this is one of the oddities, a book that has struck me with its characters.

      That is all saying nothing about the all-important plot, though. I do have a theory in mind, though. I've just seen the murder and my pet theory at the moment is that

      Pynhqr, rvgure ol zrnaf bs zntvpvna puvpnarel be guebhtu gur hfr bs Crgxvaf gur Znezbfrg, erzbirq Jvaxyrl'f yvar sebz gur jngre naq uvq vg nzbatfg Zhzofl'f fnaqjvpurf, rffragvnyyl gerngvat gur fnaqjvpu nf n onvg, fb gung jura fur tenoorq gur bssraqvat fnaqjvpu, Jvaxyrl jbhyq oryvrir ur'q sbhaq n svfu, nggrzcg gb ubbx vg naq, va gur cebprff, ubbx Zhzofl'f unaq jvgu gur cbvfbarq yher.

      Guvf vf nyy onfrq ba abguvat rkprcg zl vzzrqvngr fhfcvpvbaf bs Pynhqr, nf n zntvpvna naq n zbaxrl-bjare ner gur gjb zbfg vzzrqvngryl fhfcvpvbhf punenpgre nepurglcrf va n Tbyqra Ntr zlfgrel. Nqq gb gung Pynhqr ercrngrqyl frrzrq gb nffbpvngr ure jvgu qrngu naq pbecfrf nf rneyl nf gur frpbaq cntr bs gur obbx, naq lrg ur'f "gur yrnfg yvxryl fhfcrpg" nf ur vf gur bayl bar jub vf xvaq gb Zhzofl, naq V pbafvqre uvz gur zbfg cebonoyl xvyyre guvf rneyl vagb gur cebprrqvatf...

      Ze. Jvaxyrl nyfb "wbxrq" gung ur'f gur bar jub xvyyrq ure, ohg V oryvrir guvf "wbxr" vf, va n znaare bs fcrnxvat, gehr. Ur xvyyrq ure, ol nppvqrag, nf gur phycevg vagraqrq. Fvzvyneyl gb gur nppvqragny qrgrpgvir xvyyre va Jbzna va gur Jneqebor.

      This is all based on nothing, as the death has only just occurred, and I have few clues to work with, and a few other theories (gur ubbx jnfa'g cbvfbarq, ohg engure gur zrqvpvar gur ivpgvz jbhyq hfr gb gerng gur jbhaq JNF), but there's a lot of fun to be had with this book already. Very promising, thanks for the recommendation!

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    2. This short, shoddily written review does this gem no justice, whatsoever, but glad you have been enjoying it so far. Hopefully, you'll find the ending matching its brilliant premise and convincing characterization. A reprint that should have made a bigger splash when it was published.

      "I rarely comment on character in my reviews, because I genuinely struggle to pick one apart from the other in any meaningful way, but this is one of the oddities, a book that has struck me with its characters"

      I rarely discuss characters or characterization myself, because nine out of ten times, they're not half as interesting to me as the plot and background milieu. Bleeding Hooks definitely belongs to that small group of exceptions on top of having an excellent plot, backdrop and storytelling. Are you going to review it on your blog?

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    3. I'm glad to see we're in agreement about the well-drawn characters! Yes, you can expect to see a review of this book on my blog, but given my five-month hiatus I want to create at least two month's worth of reviews (that is to say, two for each week) so I can make sure I'm ready to come back properly. Expect the review of the book in probably around a half to a full month, alongside an Alibi Lecture, continued reviews of Furuhata and Detective Conan, and a review of a Japanese-language children's mystery dealing with murders committed in accordance to the rules of an old party game...

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