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In at the Death by Francis Duncan (view source)
Revision as of 07:51, 31 August 2016
, 07:51, 31 August 2016no edit summary
There are light touches to counteract Tremaine’s occasional dark moods and feelings of having no business being part of the investigation, such as the continuing amusement derived from his devotion to ''Romantic Stories'' magazine. He's a sucker for pretty girls and even the hint of romance, but although his innocence is endearing he is not so innocent that he isn't aware of the depths of human nature and what is at stake in this investigation.
The author, Francis Duncan, had unfortunately been forgotten, but after a new edition of [[Murder for For Christmas by Francis Duncan|Murder for Christmas]] was an unexpected hit in December 2015 a few of his other Golden Age novels have been re-released. ''In at the Death'' was originally published in 1952, when his career was already well-established.
The novel is clearly of its time, the prose a little flowery at times, with some of the scandals uncovered or hinted at almost laughably tame now. It also has a couple of twists that come completely out of left field, but if you accept the murder team's discoveries at face value then the eventual solution hangs together. All in all this was an enjoyable mystery which I raced through.