Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Whisper Murder! by Vera Kelsey (1946)

 


About the author: (from gadetection): Audrey Vera Kelsey (1892-1961) was a Canadian journalist and foreign correspondent. She was born in Winnipeg, Canada and raised in Grand Forks, ND. She authored non fiction about Brazil, China, and other foreign countries. She wrote Red River Runs North!, a history of the Red River Valley, and several mystery novels: 

  • The Owl Sang Three Times (1941)
  • Satan Has Six Fingers (1943)
  • The Bride Dined Alone (1943)
  • Fear Came First (1945)
  • Whisper Murder! (1946)  

Major characters:

  • Marcus Cumberland, publisher of the Clayton News
  • Dan Cumberland, his son, city editor of the same
  • Lisa McPhail, Dan's former fiancĂ©e
  • Professor Terence McPhail, Lisa's husband
  • James Blythe, insurance investigator
  • Anthony Elway, owner of the two burned hotels
  • Dolores Sandys Elway, his wife
  • Barbara Sandys, the woman in the cape, and sister of Dolores
  • Jack Carston, manager of the two burned hotels
  • Elmer Judson, landlord for the Elways
  • Thode Brierson, District Attorney
  • Pete Wilson, Chief of Police

Locale: Clayton, Minnesota

Synopsis: Newspaper publisher Marcus Cumberland is not pleased that his city editor (and son), Dan Cumberland, has given front page treatment to a fire which burned down the Wayne River Hotel. It is news, but it reflects badly on the town of Clayton; which has a fierce sense of pride. The fire followed another one, a year earlier, which burned down the Claytonian Hotel in the same manner. Now two of the three hotels in town are gone.

The second fire draws scrutiny from insurance investigator James Blythe. His company had insured both hotels, and now that a second one has burned, suspicion of arson runs high.

Dan receives an invitation to call on Lisa McPhail, wife of wealthy professor and scientist Terence McPhail. Dan has not heard from her for years. They had been engaged, but Lisa jilted him at the last moment to take up with Terence instead. Dan never lost his love for her, and hopes she is seeking a reconciliation. 

Dan encounters a woman in a blue cape who reports a barking dog closed in a garage. Police check on the barking dog report at the home of Anthony Elway and his wife Dolores Sandys Elway, the owners of the two burned hotels. They do not find a dog, but they do find a house full of leaking gas and Anthony and Dolores quite dead. An inquest finds accidental death.

Dan walks by the river and is struck on the head. The woman in the blue cape rescues him, and reveals she is Dolores' sister, Barbara Sandys. She is convinced the death of the Elways is not accident, but murder; and urges Dan to start an investigation. Next, Jack Carston, the former manager of the two hotels, is found dead. 

Review:

This is a fast-paced book in which events happen constantly - no chapters with dragging theoretical speculations. Four suspicious deaths occur, yet there is no apparent motive for any of them. 

Dan wants to get a private detective on the job, but events happen much too quickly. The chapter titles are dates/times, and the entire book only spans three weeks. The ending is pretty clever with several people not being whom they appear.

I especially enjoyed the struggle of the Chamber-of-Commerce types who did not want to admit that (gasp) a crime can occur in their town, as they faced the increasing reality that things are, indeed, very wrong in town. I could just hear them singing "Iowa Stubborn" from The Music Man!

The character of Captain Billy is especially enjoyable. He only has a small part, but is a real character - in charge of his grounded steamboat in which he spends his days on the bridge watching the river and dreaming of better days.

One aspect which did not seem quite fair to the reader: One victim left behind a long letter which explained everything. Dan has the letter, refers to it and mentions it often, but the contents are not disclosed to the reader until the dénouement.

I especially enjoy newspaper-based mysteries, but usually there are a lot of chaotic newsroom scenes. Not here - the newspaper office remains a mystery. 

Overall, a good thrilling read despite the fair-play issue noted above.

Please also see this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.

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