This is the third time I've run into Miles Burton's creation, Desmond Merrion, wealthy criminologist and former intelligence officer. And it is also the third time I've come away unimpressed. Lucky for me, then, that Burton's books (at least the three I've read so far) work pretty well despite the banality and uninspired crime-solving of Merrion and Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard, Burton's detecting duo. Obviously, there is more to these books than who solves the crimes or I would not have sat down to read a third one.
The crimes in HEIR TO MURDER begin on a rainy windswept night overlooking the rush of a storm swept sea - so of course we are hooked right off the bat. The author is then smart not to let the time lag between a second murder and more chicanery. Crimes that seem at first to be accidents - unrelated coincidences - turn out to be links in a nefarious chain. (As we knew they would.)
There are NO coincidences - especially in murder mysteries, so off we go.
Miles Burton's obvious forte was plotting, at least so it seems to me. His characterizations suffer by comparison and though I am usually a 'character' person, occasionally I will be drawn in to a story where plot and setting are intriguing (or familiar) enough to satisfy my craving for a good stormy night English village mystery. The setting is Carmouth on the Southwest coast of England. (I'm big on windswept English villages - well, you probably already knew that.)
Not that Burton's characterizations are awful, that would be too much to bear, but just that they are not memorable in any way. Even the killer, once exposed (and those of us who are long time mystery buffs will probably figure out who the murderer is before Merrion does) is not anyone who is sharply drawn and his motivation isn't clear until we are given information near the end which should have been (in a fair play mystery which I believe this is supposed to be) revealed earlier. But again, that didn't stop me continuing to read and so I give the author credit for that particular deft trick.
HEIR TO MURDER begins right off the bat with the death of a local doctor in a cruelly staged accident. Then later a nurse is done in cliff-side by 'accidental' fall.
Desmond Merrion and his wife are vacationing nearby and get drawn into the mystery early. Scotland Yard finally shows up on the scene after a third violent incident with more to come. At first I had the suspicion that we were dealing with a serial killer - English village style, but after awhile that seemed not to be the case.
Lady Violet Ventham, a wealthy elderly woman turns out to be the fulcrum around which events are progressing though she herself remains untouched, keeping her own secrets while inviting Merrion and his wife to stay with her and her resentful niece at the local manor house. Of course Lady Ventham is rich enough that her will is an item of more than casual interest. Could it be the reason for all the violent happenings?
What do you think?
But the resolution of the mystery takes more than the usual twists and turns and even if the ending is a tiny bit of a let-down, the author still brings it off. It is in the oft misleading way in which the story unfolds that keeps the reader guessing and wondering what will happen next. In a mystery, 'what happens next' can make up for any short-comings if there are certain other elements present.
Foremost of these elements is style of writing which often makes up for other sins. Miles Burton is a good writer and sometimes that's just enough when coupled with plotting dexterity. He is adept and clever enough to interest the reader and keep him or her riveted despite his lackluster characters. How that works I don't know, I just know that occasionally it happens. There's no accounting for the mysterious.
I recommend HEIR TO MURDER even if you haven't read any of Burton's books before. It is the 46th (!?) entry in the series but this type of thing doesn't need to be read in order.
Miles Burton was the pseudonym for Cecil Street, a decorated soldier and later prolific writer of mysteries.
It is Friday once again, so don't forget to check in at Edgar Award nominated author Patricia Abbott's blog, Pattinase, to see what other forgotten or overlooked books other bloggers are talking about today.
Goodness, 46 in the series? I have read your review(s) and think that a copy, finding it's way to me by plan or chance, would have a strong likelihood of getting read. Whether said copy actually tunes up, who can guess?
ReplyDeleteRead it on my Kindle, Rick. :) Some of these books are nearly impossible to find in hardcover or paperback for less than five bucks which is my tipping point.
Deletei often find myself losing track of plot turns if the language and characterizations are attractive; consequently finding the perp is usually not my major interest in reading mysteries... characters like Inspector Appleby and Gervase Fen are entertaining in their own right... tx for the informative post...
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Mudpuddle. Yeah, who knows why one mystery attracts while another - perhaps a much better written one - fails to hold my interest.
DeleteI admire your persistence to delve into a book despite misgivings, Yvette. You'd make a fine detective, I am sure!
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on my mood, Mathew. That's my only excuse. :) Lately I've been in the mood for clever whodunits fast with plot and luckily I've discovered a few. There's just so much going on in the world at the moment, that my brain needs a nice comforting break and these sorts of books are perfect relaxation.
DeleteYvette, I have not read anything by this author, so I really should try him. I will put him on my book sale list and then if nothing turns up (which is likely) I will try a copy on Kindle. But sometimes I get really lucky at the sale ... you never know when something unusual will turn up.
ReplyDeleteOh it's ALWAYS so much better to have the ACTUAL book, Tracy. I agree. :) I wish I had a used bookstore nearby...But since I don't, Abe Books online is my store for old books. Now and then I get lucky there.
DeleteI'm a sucker for windswept English villages, storms of almost any sort, and isolated and / or creepy old houses, too. I've just been over to Amazon and downloaded Heir to Murder for $2.99!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I did! You can't beat the price. Though of course we'd all rather have the actual book. :)
DeleteI finished Heir to Murder a few days ago. I liked it. I have another Burton book, an actual book I bought decades ago but have never read. That one will go to the top of my TBR pile - as soon as I finish about four other books!
DeleteIt is so hard to resist those $1.99 Amazon e-book Golden Age mysteries!
VERY HARD to resist. :) Especially when the book can't be found anywhere else at a cheap price. But I find that reading on Kindle exhausts my eyes -
DeleteI can't read as long as I would with a regular book, so I'm reading slower when I'm reading an e-book. But I manage. :) I'm currently reading George Bellairs' THE CASE OF THE FAMISHED PARSON and liking it. You might like Bellairs as well, Joan. He's like Burton - sort of.
That's a very long series for an author I'd never heard of before, Yvette. Rather unsettling when that happens — when will I ever read Burton or the other pseudonyms of Cecil Street? I read his impressive biography.
ReplyDeleteI'd never read him either, Prashant. My only excuse: I can't read EVERYTHING. But, better late than never. :)
DeleteWell, not having read the book and not having read much in the last week, I'm chiming in with my latest diversion: After the Thin Man.
ReplyDeleteSaw it tonight - and could there ever have been a better Hollywood couple than William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles?
And in your last of villains or character actors, did you have Joseph Calleia on it? He is a perfect villain.
And I was thinking that fur-lined coats with big fur collars and small hats were just made for Myrna Loy/Nora Charles. Nobody wore them better.
And in the list of the film's cast I learned that Skippy played Asta.
What a good actor!
Skippy as Asta practically steals the show. :) Great series. Great movies.
DeleteYvette,
DeleteI'm more of a cat person, but Asta has got to be one of the great animal? characters of all time.
Absolutely. I love how (in THE THIN MAN) he drags Nora into the nightclub while she's slipping and stumbling and trying not to fall or drop her Christmas packages. Ha. What a pratfall. And she's not even embarrassed though everyone sitting there is astounded. Now THAT'S sophistication. :)
DeleteSomehow I have managed to to read a single thing by Burton / John Rhode but clearly I am missing a trick here! Thanks Yvette - sounds very entertaining to me!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it, Sergio. I think you would too. Not one of the greats, but still good enough.
DeleteI enjoyed it, Sergio. I think you would too. Not one of the greats, but still good enough.
Delete