I enjoy puzzle mysteries, as long as they play fairly with me. I'm probably a lot worse than most of my readers in terms of being able to solve a good puzzle from a talented author while I am reading it, but I insist that, after the solution has been revealed, I must be able to go back through the book and find the well-hidden clues.
And then there is the very small and select list of mysteries which absolutely blew me away when I first read them - where, having been superbly misdirected, I reached a point in the story where I suddenly felt that the rug had been pulled out from under me and that the solution of the mystery is suddenly revealed to be...something or someone I hadn't expected because I missed the key clues when I first read them. It's more - much more - than just the old "least likely suspect." It's something that lets me know I've been looking at the whole puzzle from the wrong way around.
Over the years, I can think of only a handful of books which have so completely surprised and delighted me. One of the best is a mystery first published in 1944, Christianna Brand's superb book called Green for Danger. I love her detective, Inspector Cockrill, who makes mistakes. I love and care about her characters. I love the World War II setting. But I particularly love the fact that I was so completely and elegantly fooled. Here's the review I recorded for the Classic Mysteries podcast after I first read the book, a decade ago (as always, edited a bit and updated).
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In an English field hospital during World War II, a patient dies mysteriously on the operating table during what should have been a routine surgery. An accident? Perhaps. But then a member of the medical team is murdered – and Detective-Inspector Cockrill of the local police force must track down the killer…and a motive…and figure out how that patient died. The mystery is Green for Danger, by Christianna Brand.
Let me say right at the outset that I was blown away by Green for Danger – in fact, I can’t believe I had never read it before. The book, published in 1944, was one of the last true Golden Age mysteries, and it is widely regarded as one of the best – deservedly so. Brand is an amazing writer – she creates a cast of characters and forces you to care very deeply about them all. Then she throws in an impossible murder, some other nastiness, and concludes with more sudden twists and surprises than a reader has any right to expect.
Here’s the situation: the German bombing of England is under way. A number of doctors and nurses are serving at a makeshift military hospital, where victims of the bombing raids are often brought for treatment. We are introduced to several of the doctors and nurses and given some information about their backgrounds – and the relationships that form among these men and women, thrown together under the most hazardous and trying circumstances.
After a bombing in the nearby town, the doctors and nurses prepare for surgery on one victim, a local postman. It seems to be routine surgery, to repair a broken leg. But – to everyone’s horror and astonishment – the patient dies on the operating table. There appears to be no immediate cause.
Inspector Cockrill, of the local police, comes to the hospital to begin what he expects will be the routine investigation of an accidental death. Not so. One member of the medical team announces at a party that she believes the patient was murdered – and she can prove it. It will come as no surprise, then, that she is found dead the next morning – stabbed, dressed in a hospital gown and mask and laid out on the operating table.
Inspector Cockrill quickly determines that only a limited number of people could possibly have been involved in the crimes – three doctors, all men, and three nurses, all women. The relations among these people is quite complex, and a great deal of the beauty in this book is in Brand’s ability to make the reader care very deeply what happens to each of them – yes, eventually, that includes the murderer as well.
Inspector Cockrill faces several challenges. The first is to find out how the patient died – for, as I said earlier, there is no sign of foul play. The solution to this problem is, as far as I know, original, ingenious – and frighteningly believable. But knowing the how of the crime is only part of the problem – for there would seem to be no reason for any of the six suspects to want to kill the patient. It is only when Cockrill can figure out the motive – and this, too, is most ingenious – that he can say with certainty who committed the crimes. And then he is left with the hardest task of all: coming up with the evidence to prove that his reconstruction of the crime is correct. In the meantime, there are more attempted murders.
It all leads to an absolutely stunning conclusion to the book – and I can’t say it strongly enough: Brand builds up incredible tension – and then switches direction – again and again – leaving the reader dazzled. And I really cannot say much more without spoiling some of the real pleasure that awaits you in reading this book.
It is important to note that – as with so many Golden Age books – this is a legitimate puzzle mystery, and the reader is given the necessary clues – or, so you will discover, when – having been well and truly fooled – you thumb back to discover where those clues had been planted.
Green for Danger was made into a movie in 1946, starring Alastair Sim as Inspector Cockrill. I haven’t seen it for many years, but it is generally regarded (and, by me, remembered) as one of the better film adaptations of a Golden Age mystery. But if the movie was very good, the book is – and I say it again – absolutely brilliant. At the moment, it seems most readily available in e-book formats, although I believe there are a lot of print copies available through your favorite mystery booksellers. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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You can listen to the original audio review on the podcast by clicking here.
Next week: The Dream Detective, by Sax Rohmer.
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