Murder in Reverse (1945) by Anthony Webb

Norman Scarlyn Wilson was a British writer who authored a handful of Teach Yourself language books, French and Spanish, but during the height of the genre's golden years, from 1937 to 1947, he produced eleven detective novels – published as by “Anthony Webb.” An interesting mystery writer who seems to have been forgotten by even the rabid readers of the traditional, Golden Age detective story.

Golden Age of Detection Wiki (who's who of who the hell?) has nothing on him and had to trawl the internet to find small, obscure bits and pieces of information here and there.

A French wikipedia page confirmed Webb was a pseudonym of Wilson and has a full bibliography, of the English and French editions, with a sketchy description of his lead detective, Mr. George Pendlebury. There are a few lists with rare, secondhand copies and one listing all the Dutch translations, which means his novels have appeared in at least three languages. And that's pretty impressive considering how thoroughly forgotten he's today. More interestingly, is the possible existence of an old BBC radio interview. On the June 21, 1951, episode of Tea-Time Talk, “Selecting a Detective,” Webb is asked about “the problems and pitfalls that await the author of detective fiction,” which sounds fascinating, but have been unable to find an archived copy online – not even a transcript. So how did such an obscure, hard-to-find writer as Webb came to my attention?

Brian Skupin's Locked Room Murders: Supplement (2019) has an entry for the eighth Mr. Pendlebury mystery, Murder in Reverse (1945), earning its spot with an impossible poisoning in an empty and watched room.

So, without anything substantial to go on, I read the book with little more than a bit of hope that it would turn out to be a half-decent detective story with a good, or acceptable, locked room-trick. Murder in Reverse is unquestionable a second-string detective novel, but not a bad one that's strangely reminiscent of Christopher Bush (plot), Francis Duncan (detective) and Brian Flynn (style).

Mr. Pendlebury takes the lead in nine, of eleven, detective novels penned by Webb and is a kind, elderly gentleman who lives with the family of his granddaughter, Margaret, who all adored him deeply as a man in the habit of giving much and seeking little in return – reaping “a spontaneous reward of affection.” The “most kindly of men” with a repository of arcane trivia and a benevolent, but insatiable, curiosity which Detective-Inspector Wagstaffe has drawn on on more than one occasion. Much to the excitement of the old man himself. Mr. Pendlebury delighted “in pitting his wits against those of the criminal” and put his talent for “unearthing seemingly irrelevant details” whose “significance was apt to be overlooked by more orthodox investigators” to practice. And if you add to that his willingness to play cupid or being called murder magnet by his grandson-in-law, you have a detective character who strongly reminded me of Duncan's Mordecai Tremaine.

Murder in Reverse takes place in one those many small, picturesque villages dotting the English countryside, Stutterford, which had been temporarily deprived of one its Air-raid Wardens, but Mr. Pendlebury promptly offered to act as substitute. No good deed goes unpunished and his new responsibilities forces him to postpone a visit to his neighbor, Joseph Kendrick, who's celebrating his eightieth birthday when the story opens. But when he arrives that evening to present Kendrick with a birthday present, Mr. Pendlebury is told that Kendrick has unexpectedly passed away.

Kendrick had invited his three nephews: the brothers John and Peter Kendrick and their black sheep cousin, Charles Hannington, who disappeared to Australia two decades ago, but he recently resurfaced and he's up to his old tricks again – telling the brothers he has their uncle eating out of his hands. The doctor also has his suspicions and asks for a post-mortem. And the possibility of murder poses a precarious question. How could Kendrick have been killed, while alone in room, with John and Peter playing a game of chess in another room? They they were bound to notice anyone entering the room or moving about the room.

However, once the problem is posed, the story moves on to another problem when the Chief Constable, Major Bingley, asks Mr. Pendlebury to come over the scene of, what's unmistakably, a murder. Mr. Pendlebury is "thrilled to the marrow." But the reason why Major Bingley asks his assistance is actually quite original.

Murder in Reverse is, at its core, a bright, lighthearted village mystery marred only by the dark, ominous clouds of the Second World War hanging over it. There are numerous references to blackouts, food rationing, wartime beer, stringent regulations and parlor maids working in munitions factories, which also affected the police apparatus and routine that now had to work with “a staff largely lacking in experience” – reason why Wagstaffe is absent here. Major Bingley admits to Mr. Pendlebury he's not able “to cope with jobs as serious as murder cases.” The garroting of Mr. Bancroft, a solicitor, is a particular nasty case of murder. So he's not adverse to turn to an amateur who had earned the respect of Wagstaffe and Scotland Yard. And when the result of post-mortem is announced, they have to figure out whether the same, unseen hand committed these two vastly different murders. A subtle murder and a not so subtle murder.

What unfolds from this premise is sedately told, but very uneven, detective story with some good and interesting ideas that sadly lacked the practiced touch and finesse of Webb's more skilled, well-known contemporaries. But let's look at the good first, before going over the bad.

Storytelling of Murder in Reverse is drenched in the old-world charm depicted in the beautifully illustrated book cover, which shows the most striking and important scene in the book. Mr. Pendlebury leisurely strolling pass shop windows and spotting an important clue in a grocer's window. He also purchases a tin of tobacco that helps him squash a pointless alibi. So this should give you an idea about the pace of the story. The reason behind the murder is a refreshing take on an age-old motive, the locked room-trick is clever, but unpolished, and there might have a spot of unintended, but first-class, piece of misdirection – which succeeded in throwning me off the scent. You see, based on the different murder methods, uncertainty of time of death in the Bancroft case and the book title, I assumed the victims had murdered each other. A plot-device that has been used before, and since, Murder in Reverse was published and usually involves a time-delayed administration of poison for one of the murders. The actual solution turned out to be very different from what I expected and it's not perfect.

I'm generous when saying that the clueing is uneven. Some things are shared, while others are kept close to the chest, but even the clues that are shared only give you a hint, or nod, in the right direction without ever giving you a key piece of evidence. For example, if you're imaginative and observant enough, you can probably make an educated guess how the locked room-trick was roughly executed. But you won't know for sure until Mr. Pendlebury begins his explanation. A warning to the reader: he takes his time getting to the point. What nearly killed the story is the identity of the murderer and something that will not fail to embarrass the seasoned mystery reader. Luckily, the weaker areas of the plot have a solid motive and a clever locked room-trick as support columns or else the whole thing would have collapsed into an uninspired, third-rate detective story. A charmingly written, third-rate detective story, but a third-rate detective story nonetheless.

So, on a whole, Murder in Reverse is not completely without merit, but very much a second-string mystery novel and can only be recommended to long-time mystery readers, because they're the most likely to take the good with the bad (junkies!). Someone who has only scratched the surface of the genre might have the same reaction to Murder in Reverse as to potassium cyanide. I didn't dislike it and always enjoy exploring these obscure detective novels, but don't expect Murder in Reverse to make an appearance on my annual best-of list.