The murder shocked the residents of the tiny English village of Dalmering. It seemed so senseless, so pointless; there appeared to have been no reason for anyone to murder the victim. But there was a feeling of something wrong in Dalmering, some evil undercurrent flowing just beneath the surface, under the everyday life of the town. And Scotland Yard inspector Jonathan Boyce and his friend (and frequent unofficial consultant), Mordecai Tremaine found themselves searching desperately for some motive that might explain the murder - for, as Mordecai points out to the inspector:
“You’re getting morbid, Jonathan. It’s because the case has only just begun and you’ve not found anything yet to get your teeth into. This is murder. And murder,” he added sententiously, “always has a motive.”
The search for a motive that could explain that senseless killing is at the heart of Murder Has a Motive, a 1947 mystery by Francis Duncan and the subject of our audio review this week on the Classic Mysteries podcast. You are welcome to listen to the complete review by clicking here.
At the same time that Inspector Boyce and Mordecai Tremaine are searching for a motive for murder, members of the village’s amateur dramatic society are rehearsing a brand new play, called “Murder Has a Motive,” which the society plans to present as a fundraiser for a local charity. It’s a very grim play, to be sure, with shocking on-stage murders, but it’s worth noting that most of the people involved in the real-life drama of murder and madness taking place in Dalmering are also involved in the play, both as cast and crew members. Mordecai and Inspector Boyce will have to consider possible links between the play and the terrible events that are shaking the village as they struggle to understand the “why” of what quickly becomes a series of murders. Can they determine – as the title of both the play-within-a-book and the book itself says, that Murder Has a Motive?
It's a powerful story, engagingly told. Today, we'd probably describe it as "noir." It's worth your reading time.
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