Mortensen certainly was dead. And it looked very much as if he had been murdered. The cause of death was strychnine, a powerful (and very fast-acting) poison - really, a most unpleasant way to die. According to Dr. Harry Manson, however, the symptoms of strychnine poisoning become evident within 15 minutes of the poison being taken. And all the evidence proved quite clearly that nobody could possibly have given Mortensen that dose of poison, As the police tried to figure out how this impossible murder was planned and executed, they began to realize that Alexis Mortensen had been a very frightened man indeed. But frightened of what? That will prove to be a critical question in Death of a Frightened Editor, by E. and M.A. Radford, a newly re-released classic originally published in 1959. It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to my complete review by clicking here.
Dean Street Press continues to find and re-publish classic traditional mysteries, from the Golden Age and beyond. At the beginning of March, Dean Street is publishing another selection of these novels. Among the books to be released is Edwin and Mona Radford’s Death of a Frightened Editor, and the publisher has sent me an Advance Reader’s copy for this review. The Radfords’ principal series detective (who appeared in 35 of their 38 mysteries) was Dr. Harry Manson, a senior detective at Scotland Yard and the head of its forensic research laboratory. As such, Dr. Manson and his team of detectives were strictly scientific in their approach to investigations, and the apparently “impossible” crimes they came up against usually yielded to complex scientific tests and measurements.
Let’s take a closer look at Death of a Frightened Editor.
Virtually every workday, a group of eight travelers was in the habit of riding together in a first-class passenger car on board a British train from London to Brighton. The group didn’t know each other particularly well, but they appeared to prefer each other’s company for this daily ride They even tipped the steward on the coach to save those seats for them. Among these passengers was Alexis Mortensen, the editor of a society scandal amd gossip sheet. One evening, in the middle of the trip home, Mortensen left the group, headed to the train's lavatory. Only a few minutes later, his body was discovered (after the lavatory door was broken down). Mortensen was dead – the victim of strychnine poisoning. And right away that caused an enormous problem. Strychnine is a fast-acting poison. Mortensen had to have taken the poison within 15 minutes of his death. But there was strong evidence that there was no way anyone could have tampered with his food or drink for at least an hour before his death. Leading the investigation for the police, its chief scientific expert, Dr. Harry Manson, didn’t believe it was suicide. It had to be murder. And he realized that the first – and possibly insurmountable – problem was going to be finding an answer as to how the victim was poisoned.
And there was another problem. People who knew Mortensen told the investigators that the editor was a deeply frightened man. Nobody seemed to know why, or of whom, but Mortensen had built up defenses around his home, including a heavy set of bars on the windows and a hidden safe. What had the editor feared? And – most important – how was he poisoned? For if Manson could figure out the why and how, the answers would almost certainly tell him who.
Death of a Frightened Editor, by E. and M. A. Radford is an entertaining and intelligent mystery, and it’s very much worth your time.
Very intriguing storyline, that demands the reader to be equally at the edge of their seats filled with suspense and awe as that of the characters. I haven't read such a plot yet that leaves the reader in awe and emotions as that of Dr. Harry Manson through the unfolding of the story.do check out https://www.bloghasting.com for more updates
Posted by: Bala DS | March 11, 2020 at 07:20 AM