Ludovic Travers and his good friend and frequent colleague, Scotland Yard Superintendent George Wharton both needed a rest, a break in the routine. A lovely stay at a seaside resort certainly seemed to be in order. Ludo would go down first to the town of Sandbeach, where rooms had already been reserved at the Haven Hotel; George, trying to clear up a major case involving black marketing, would follow several days later. So Ludovic Travers arrived at the Haven Hotel. And that's when unexpected things began to happen - at the hotel, for example, which didn't seem to be feeling the pinch of rationing as the vast majority of English people did. And it should be noted that the increasingly suspicious problems at the Haven were only the prelude to a number of murders. It happens in The Case of the Haven Hotel, by Golden Age author Christopher Bush. It is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the entire review by clicking here. The book, originally published in 1948, is being reissued by Dean Street Press, and the publisher provided me with an e-book copy for this review.
When Ludovic Travers arrives at the Haven Hotel, he begins, naturally enough, to talk with the hotel's guests and staff. And he – and we – begin to sense some undercurrents in the relationships among some of those people. Everyday life was something of a struggle in the Britain of the late 1940s. You needed an identity card and a rations book which was used to buy perennially scarce items – everything from a woman’s scarce nylon stockings to sugar, butter and other foodstuffs. So why were so many of these rationed items available for the enjoyment of the guests at the Haven Hotel? Rather clearly that black marketing case George had been working on must be tied in somehow, right? But why did so many of the people at the hotel seem vaguely familiar to both George and Ludo? Why did some of the residents and staff tell obviously false stories about themselves and their identities? There were plenty of questions, all right – and, very soon, there would be murder – plural, actually, murders and attempted murders. And Ludo and George Wharton – who, after all, had no official standing in this investigation - would find themselves helping the local police figure out what was happening – and, most importantly, why these murders were happening.
It’s a very good story indeed. Christopher Bush was roundly praised during his lifetime for his plotting abilities. The characters of the staff and guests at the Haven Hotel are well-drawn, and the author drops in more than a few surprises along the way. This new edition from Dean Street Press is enhanced with an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans, who offers considerable insight into the world of Christopher Bush. Evans calls The Case of the Haven Hotel, "one of Bush’s most beguiling tales, despite the presence of much genteel mayhem, including two murders and two attempted murders along with assorted cases of malfeasance and misalliance.”
You’ll enjoy it.
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