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Friday, July 7, 2017

Forgotten (or Overlooked) Book: THE EMPEROR'S SNUFF BOX(1942) by John Dickson Carr


 My apologies, I can't remember which of my blogging friends recommended this book - so sad when you're old and decrepit and your memory fails to function. But whoever it was, THANK YOU!!  This is another terrific Carr book. (I recently began re-reading Carr having totally forgotten the books from the first time around.) THE EMPEROR'S SNUFF BOX is so well set up and so smartly written even if the heroine is a bit of a drip whose behavior on an important night defies logic. But so what, we go along because Carr wants us to and because he's a man and what do men know about women anyway. Right? Besides, in those days of long ago, women were expected to be a bit malleable.

You know, there's something about Carr's writing that almost, ALMOST smacks of soap opera, but he does always manage to steer clear and deliver the goods.

THE EMPEROR'S SNUFF BOX is not part of Carr's regular series stuff and does not feature Dr. Gideon Fell or Sir Henry Merrivale. The detecting genius this time out is calm, cool and collected Dr. Dermot Kinross, a psychologist and expert in the criminal mind. The heroine is Eve Neil, she who behaves in very silly fashion, abandoning her common sense when it's needed most. But that is who she is. She also happens to be exceptionally beautiful and rich and will become the main suspect in the murder of her fiancee's father.

The settings are intimate enough, two French villas across from each other - this is the sort of book that would make for a good play since there are few locations and events take place in a short period of time.

At any rate, Ned Atwood is Eve's ex-husband, a man whom she should never have married. He is a handsome and charismatic n'er do well who treated Eve badly yet claims to still love her. We learn early on that he was capable of more than just verbal abuse during the marriage - a thoroughly bad lot as they used to say, but the sort to which certain women gravitate. Hey, he has curly blond hair.

Meanwhile, the Lawes family lives in a corresponding villa across the street from Eve and she has recently become engaged to Toby Lawes, the upright, uptight son of the family. He appears to be everything that Ned is not - he works for a stodgy bank who will brook no scandal in their employees' lives and he worships Eve.

When Ned reads about the engagement, he uses his old key and shows up one fateful night in Eve's bedroom determined to convince her not to marry the stiff shirt across the way.

What Ned fails to recognize is that after being married to him, Eve is desperate for a 'normal' seeming man who will treat her well and give her a the quiet sort of life she yearns for. What Eve fails to recognize is that Toby Lawes might have a secret or two of his own.

Anyway, while trying to convince the persistent Ned to leave her bedroom before scandal ensues - they eventually discover that all is not as it should be across the street. Looking directly into the third floor study, they can see that Maurice Lawes, Toby's elderly father, is slumped at his desk with his head smashed in.

That's the basic set-up.

What follows is one of those stories where things just get worse and worse. Of course, everybody's lying and things better left unsaid get said and secrets are exposed and everything that happens looks suspicious and for sure the police zero in on Eve because of what happens shortly after she forcefully ushers Ned out of her house and into the darkened garden. Oh, and there's a sinister maid named Yvette which I found very funny. Lately I seem to be running into characters named Yvette all over the place. This Yvette is not above lying and  making things very difficult for her employer.

I admit that I figured out who the killer probably was early on, but that's only because I've read a million mysteries (or just about) in my life and I've learned to recognize certain tip-offs - this is a fair play sort of thing so the clues are there. I figured out the 'trick' and felt pretty good about it. But even then, I wasn't sure until nearly the end. I also didn't like that the motive is kind of forced and out of left field, but that's a minor quibble since everything else works beautifully.

If you are new to mysteries (or just new to Carr) this would be a terrific book to begin with because it contains the dazzling sleight of hand Golden Agers Carr and Agatha Christie were famous for and it provides as good a surprise ending as those uninitiated among you could wish for.

Lots of fun to read. So far I'm doing very well with Carr.

Since it's Friday, don't forget to head on over to author Patricia Abbott's blog, Pattinase, to see what other forgotten or overlooked books other bloggers are talking about today.

This is the cover on the paperback I have.  But I much prefer the older hardcover edition.

19 comments:

  1. Yvette,

    I'm slowly working my way through the Gideon Fell series, so it will probably be some time before I get around to this one. But, I will, eventually.

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    1. Oh Fred, I rarely read anything in the order of publication UNLESS the book has a developing personal relationship or key plotting feature that deserves patience. Life's too short. At any rate, you'll love this one I'm sure.

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    2. YVette,

      The most beautiful feature of a self-imposed rule is that one can always make exceptions.

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  2. every time i think i'm getting a handle on Carr's output, a new one shows up! this one sounds better than average. i'll check it out... tx..

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    1. Oh good, let us know how you like it. I think it's one of my faves, but there are still many books to go. And don't forget SHE DIED A LADY which was also excellent - written by Carr under his Carter Dickson pseudonym.

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  3. I had not heard of this author but I am definitely going to keep an eye out for the books now. Thanks for this post.

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    1. You're welcome, Mystica. John Dickson Carr is one of the greats of the Golden Age of vintage mysteries.

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  4. I wrote down She Died a Lady when I saw it written about here recently, I believe. (My memory is shot, too, and I read a lot of blogs and sometimes they run together.)
    I'll see if I can find this book. It sounds good.

    My father liked John Dickson Carr, as did my uncle, his brother, especially his locked-room mysteries.

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    1. I'm looking forward to reading many more. Just when I begin to despair over not finding another great vintage series of books to read, along comes another. :)

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  5. Yvette, I've been collecting Carr books and have quite a stack now. Am not reading them at the same rate as I'm picking them up though😁 This one sounds really good. Will keep my eyes peeled for it!

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    1. I think you'll like this, Peggy Ann. I'm reading them as I come across them in reviews and such. Luckily there are plenty of bloggers who love Carr and post reviews all the time. I'm not saying I'm going to read all of Carr's stuff, but I'm definitely going to read a bunch.

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  6. Memory is odd. I can stop reading a book and pick it up months later and, usually, my mental bookmark reminds me what was happening. However, I just finished a Nero Wolf book of four short stories / novellas and as I was writing up my personal review, I had already forgotten who did it in two of the stories.

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    1. Ha! Happens to me all the time, Joan. I will read a book and sit down to write the Friday review and I have to have the book in front of me for reference. I am hopeless. I also cannot, for the life of me, ever remember the names of characters. HOPELESS!!

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  7. I am going to read this one soon, Yvette, so I am glad you liked it so much. Maybe it was Sergio who recommended it.

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    1. I double-checked his blog because I'd thought so too, but I couldn't find the review. But maybe he recommended it in a comment. He'll know - when he comes back from his holiday.

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  8. This was my first Carr book I read/reviewed and I loved it. So glad you liked it as much as I did.

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  9. I bought a 3-novel Carr collection several weeks ago inspired, I suspect, by the same contributor here you're trying to remember, Yvette. I haven't started reading any of them, as my Kindle habit is getting in the way. One of these days, tho, oyez, one of these days!

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  10. Yvette, I really have to push myself to read John Dickson Carr. I haven't done so yet even after reading some excellent reviews of his mysteries including over at Sergio's blog.

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