"Death of a Doll," by Hilda Lawrence

Ruth Miller, a salesperson at Blackman's Department Store in New York City, was looking forward eagerly to moving into her new home. She had been fortunate enough to complete the process of being interviewed for a room in Hope House, a fairly small but distinctly superior boarding house that provided a safe haven, good home cooking and even potential roommates and friendships for those young women, many of them, like Ruth, working at Black's, as it was called. So how is it that literally within minutes of arriving at Hope House, Ruth Miller suddenly became terrified - frightened for her life, despairing of her safety, afraid to leave the sanctuary of her bedroom. She was so terrified that she began making desperate plans to escape from Hope House and from New York. Just to escape with her life. Too terrified to talk. Too terrified to walk alone down any of the hallways in her building. Giving up hope in Hope House.

And eventually, what she feared came to pass.

The "how," the "who," and the "why" make up a powerful little mystery called Death of a Doll, by Hilda Lawrence. First published in 1947, it has just been republished by Agora Books, and the publisher has sent me a copy as a Kindle e-book for the purpose of this review. Hilda Lawrence wrote only four mysteries, and, according to Agora Books, this one is generally considered to be her best. It is a very powerful book indeed. I would add that it is the subject of today's audio review on the weekly Classic Mysteries podcast, and you are invited to listen to the complete review by clicking here.

“The body of Ruth Miller, a resident of Hope House, was discovered in the hotel courtyard shortly after midnight last night by a woman walking her dog. The position and condition of the body indicated that Miss Miller had jumped to her death earlier in the evening when there was still considerable rain…Miss Miller had been dead approximately three hours. She had been in ill health for some time and had attended a social function in the hotel against the advice of her friends. When found, Miss Miller was still wearing the rag-doll costume in which she had danced a few hours before. The verdict was suicide."

That newspaper version of the events surrounding Ruth Miller’s death convinced almost everyone. The police agreed with it. The people who lived and worked at Hope House agreed with it. But a woman who had been a customer of Ruth Miller’s at Blackman’s department store, a society woman named Roberta Sutton, didn’t believe it – she had seen Ruth Miller just before Ruth went to move into Hope House, and she knew Ruth had been eager and happy about moving. What had changed? Mrs. Sutton had another friend – a detective named Mark East, and she managed to get him interested in the case – which would prove very unfortunate for a desperate murderer. Death of a Doll is a powerfully written and dark boo, and the characters are likely to stay in your mind long after you finish reading it. I recommend it quite highly.

Comments

[Colin McGuigan]

I have to agree with your positive assessment of this book, Les. I picked it up as a blind buy and read it when Pan reissued it as part of their classic crime series back in 2001 or 2002 and powerful atmosphere stuck with me ever since.