"Murder in the Maze"

This is the stuff of which nightmares are made. You are lost inside a maze - one of those garden affairs where the passageways are narrow lanes between very tall and very dense hedges. The idea is to find your way to the center of the maze, and then find your way out again. So here you are, exploring the maze - a maze with two centers - when you hear a cry. Someone has been murdered in the maze, and the killer is trying to get out. And you hear footsteps...

As I say, it's the stuff of nightmares. And it is one of several memorable scenes inside that frightening double maze in "Murder in the Maze," a marvelous 1927 mystery by J. J. Connington. Long out of print, it is once again available in a handsome paperback edition with a fine introduction by mystery scholar Curtis Evans. It is the subject of this week's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review by clicking here.

 "Murder in the Maze" begins at the country estate called Whistlefield, the home of Roger Shandon. Roger and his twin brother Neville, both needing a place where they can study their business affairs privately, go into the great double maze - a maze with two centers - that is Whistlefield's pride.

But both men are murdered in the maze, the victims of poisoned darts. Also in the maze at the time of the murder are two young visitors to the estate. They are the ones, exploring the maze separately, who hear the murders being committed - and who are terrified hearing the footsteps of the murderer trying to escape. What if that murderer comes across these potential witnesses, who are helplessly lost in the maze...

It's a nightmarish scene, remarkably well-realized. And there are other, equally well thought-out and created scenes within that maze which will linger in the memory long after you finish reading this book. The detective who solves the problems of the maze is Sir Clinton Driffield, the Chief Constable of the county where the crimes take place. Driffield and his friend Squire Wendover are Connington's series detectives, and the investigation is remarkably well done.

 I must admit I was completely unfamiliar with Connington until I read about him on Curtis Evans's fine blog, "The Passing Tramp." In his introduction to this new edition, Evans notes that "Murder in the Maze" drew praise from the great English poet T. S. Eliot, who called it "a really first-rate detective story." I suspect that modern readers will agree with Eliot's assessment; Evans calls it "one of the very finest country house mysteries produced by a British detective novelist in the 1920s." It is highly recommended.

Comments

[Joan Kyler]

I put this in my cart at Amazon, through your site, of course. Mazes terrify me. I'm a bit claustrophobic and got quite frightened in the maze at Hampton Court. I need to get out! Now!

[Ron Smyth]

I read this very recently and while I wasn't as impressed as T. S. Eliot, it was certainly a most satisfying book, well characterized and well plotted.

[Les Blatt]

Joan, mazes can indeed be terrifying. At least at Hampton Court, there are plenty of people around and you can get help finding your way through the passageways - not like the situation at Whistlefield!

[Les Blatt]

Ron, I have had a fascination with such mazes for many years. Have you ever read M. R. James's short story, "Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance"? If that doesn't put you off mazes, nothing will. I think Connington did a fine job in the several scenes set in and around the Whistlefields maze.

[Bill]

It's "amazing" (sorry) how many maze mysteries there actually are. I've read a few and I keep running across reviews of others.

[Les Blatt]

Agreed, Bill. Ever been in one of them? It's easy to feel closed in by the tall, dense hedges that make up the paths. Seems like an ideal place for a good murder... ;-)

[Bev@My Reader's Block]

I just picked this one up, Les. After reading your review, I'm eager to get to it. But...it's probably going to be on the stack until next year. Too many others ahead of it.

[Les Blatt]

Bev, I think it's the best of the Connongtons that I have read (which remains a woefully short list). As for our TBR stacks, I know what you mean - I'm constantly afraid my stack will collapse and bury me under it... ;-)