"Death of an Old Girl"

[Page updated to correct the author's name. D'oh! Thanks to Jon Blake for catching this!]

Is it likely that someone would be murdered simply because she - or he - was an intensely irritating person? Well it's something of a rarity in traditional mysteries - there is usually a good solid motive for most fictional crimes, though it may be well concealed by the murderer. All of which brings me to this week's review on the Classic Mysteries podcast of a book called Death of an Old Girl, by Elizabeth Lemarchand. Published in 1967, it was the first in a series of 17 mysteries to feature Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Pollard and his assistant, Sergeant Toye. You can listen to the complete audio review by clicking here.

The book begins at the annual reunion of the Old Meldonian Society, the alumnae association for the  graduates of the Meldon School for Girls, known more familiarly as the "old girls." We are introduced to members of the teaching staff (especially the headmistress, Helen Renshaw, and the art teacher, Ann Cartmell) and some of the other workers at the school. And we meet Beatrice Baynes, an “Old Meldonian” who is contemptuous of the way she has seen “her school” become more modern, more attuned to younger pupils and teachers over the years. Baynes is not happy with what she sees, and she appears to have plenty of venom to spare for just about anyone she dislikes on the school staff, especially Helen Renshaw and Ann Cartmell.

But when Beatrice Baynes first disappears – and then, to the surprise, I am sure, of absolutely no readers, turns up as a murder victim – both the police and the school staff cannot find any good reason why she should have been murdered. She was certainly irritating, but as a general rule people aren’t murdered simply for being irritating. So, when Detective Inspector Pollard and Sergeant Toye are sent to Meldon to investigate the murder, they find themselves tripping up against that apparent lack of motive. It is fair to say that most of the book will be dedicated to that search for a reason. There is a great deal of time spent creating and studying schedules and timetables, looking for someone among the possible suspects who might have had the opportunity to commit the murder, but motive remains elusive. But even as it starts to become clear just who might have had that opportunity, it will be that elusive motive which will, when revealed, provide the evidence needed to trap a murderer.

Pollard and Toye make for a congenial pair of criminal investigators. It’s fun to watch them as they interview potential suspects and plod their way through the routine procedural work that often reveals significant clues; it’s even more fun to watch as they carefully build their timetables and – eventually – begin to uncover the truth behind a puzzling crime. I think you'll find Elizabeth Lemarchand's Death of an Old Girl both lively and interesting.

Comments

[Jon Blake]

Good morning and happy Christmas. I haven't written to you before but I've followed the blog for over a year, and the things you recommend, I almost always like a lot; you also like things I've liked for years. So I hope you will not take it amiss that, impressed by this review and not having heard of the lady, I attempted to track her down on Kindle, only to find she doesn't exist there. It took me a little while, but I've discovered she is called Elizabeth Lemarchand, and readily and cheaply available on Kindle after all. All the best, Jon.

[Les Blatt]

Thank you for the catch, Jon. I can't believe I did that. It's a useful lesson to me about NOT trying to write and type on the morning after a too-large holiday weekend dinner the night before. In my own defense, at least I DID get the name right on the podcast version. And, yes, she is available on Kindle - that's the version I read as well. Again, thanks - I think I've corrected it now.