1937 mystery/thriller. The Everton case has been closed for a year;
everyone knows that Geoffrey Grey shot his uncle in a rage at
having been disinherited, and even his wife Marion has her doubts of
his innocence. But her cousin Hilary meets someone in a train who
drops dark hints…
There are themes repeated from Grey Mask, certainly, but not in
such a way as to make it dull. Hilary is a moderately foolish young
woman, but she's also the viewpoint character and principal
investigator (Miss Silver, as before, is largely a dea ex machina).
She's recently broken her engagement to Henry, because he got all
high-handed with her, and honestly by the end I was more in sympathy
with the breaking than with the inevitable reconciliation. (Though he
does provide some help, once he can finally be brought to believe
her.)
Still pulp nonsense, of course, and unashamedly so. Rather than the
far-reaching conspiracy of Grey Mask this is a rather smaller
affair; it's clear from the start who must be the responsible party,
and most of the narrative is spent in trying to find out how they
did it, with unimpeachable alibis all round. There's duress, and
disguise, and casual pragmatic murder.
There's also a fine atmospheric section of bicycling, and then
walking, in the fog, with murderous enemies nearby.
Freely available from Faded Page.