Julian Symons is remembered today primarily for his work as a critic of mysteries and for his classic book about the form, Bloody Murder, known as Mortal Consequences in the United States. He did write some traditional, Golden Age mysteries early in his career, but he changed course and became a leading proponent of the psychological mystery. The Colour of Murder, written by Symons in 1957, is an excellent example of that kind of mystery, but with enough puzzle elements to satisfy those of us who value good plotting. It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the complete review by clicking here. The book is being re-published in February as part of the British Library Crime Classics series, and it will be published in the United States by Poisoned Pen Press, which provided me with an advance reading copy for this review.
The Colour of Murder is the story of a man named John Wilkins. When we meet him, he is working at a fairly unimportant job, and he is more or less trapped in an unhappy marriage as well. One day, however, he meets a young woman, a librarian, who seems to him to have everything his wife does not, neither physically nor in terms of her personality. But John Wilkins has another problem: he has been having blackouts – periods of several hours at a time, usually triggered by having a drink or two, in which he wakes up some time later and cannot remember what he may have done.
And, eventually, there will be a murder. And an arrest and a trial as well. And more than a few surprises await you along the way.
The story is told in two parts. The first half of the book, we see mostly through John Wilkins's eyes, in a psychiatric assessment. His insights, as expressed to a psychiatrist, are more than a little disturbing, as we watch him mis-interpret events happening around him and to him. The second half of the book presents his trial, as seen from a number of viewpoints.
And that's all I really can tell you without spoiling it for you. Mystery historian Martin Edwards provides an insightful introduction, pointing out the ways in which Julian Symons’s The Colour of Murder differs from the more traditional, puzzle-plot mysteries we usually associate with the Golden Age. It’s also worth noting that The Colour of Murder was chosen as the 1957 book of the year by the British Crime Writers Association - the award now known as the CWA Gold Dagger. The honor seems well-deserved. I think you’ll enjoy the book.
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