I could not begin to tell you how often, in this space, I have declared my enjoyment of the mysteries by John Dickson Carr, both the ones he wrote under his own name and the ones he wrote as "Carter Dickson." For our regular visit to the Classic Mysteries vault this week, I'd like to call your attention to one, first published in 1941, called And So to Murder. It's one of the Carter Dickson books, starring Sir Henry Merrivale, in a somewhat more subdued role than fans of these books might expect. It's also a light romp through some of the unexpected hazards of both moviemaking and romance. It was the subject several years ago of my audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and I offer you the transcript of that review for what I hope will be your enjoyment. As usual, it has been slightly updated, primarily to add information about the book's availability:
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For Monica Stanton, the new job seemed at first like a dream come true. The young woman, who had written a sizzling best-selling romance novel, found herself hired as a screenwriter by an English movie company. She was eager to get started. But then she found out that she wasn’t going to rewrite her own book for the movies. No, the all-powerful producers wanted her to rewrite a best-selling mystery instead – and Bill Cartwright, the author of that best-selling mystery, would rewrite Monica’s own novel. Oh, and he’d also teach her something about the craft of screenwriting. It didn’t take long before Monica was furious with the movie executives…and she hated Bill Cartwright. And all that happened before somebody attacked Monica and nearly killed her. Things were certainly getting out of hand in And So to Murder, by John Dickson Carr writing as Carter Dickson.
It is a matter of record that John Dickson Carr went to work for a British movie company, London Films, a subsidiary of Korda Films, in 1938 – and that he did not have a good time. Carr’s biographer, Douglas G. Greene, quotes Carr’s wife as saying that John hated “with complete loathing” the time he spent at the studio. And Carr himself described the whole project as “thrice-accursed.”
It’s impossible not to draw some conclusions from that fact when we read And So to Murder, which was published in 1941, not that long after Carr’s unhappy experience with the movies. He certainly skewers the industry and many of its executives. But the story really centers on Monica Stanton, her relationship with Bill Cartwright and the other people with whom she works at the studio.
Shortly after coming to the studio, Monica is lured to a movie set, in a room with a speaking tube that connects the upper and lower floors of the set. Somebody whistles down the tube, Monica answers it…and narrowly escapes when somebody pours oil of vitriol…sulfuric acid…down the tube. That turns out to be the first in a series of attacks, accompanied by frightening anonymous letters.
Fortunately for Monica, Bill Cartwright is nearby (and, yes, she manages to overcome her initial loathing of him) – and he is able to bring the attacks to the attention of the police and also to Sir Henry Merrivale, whom readers will recognize as the undisputed star of the Carter Dickson novels.
Now this all happens just after the start of World War II. There is still a great deal of talk about spies who may be lurking on the movie set. Sir Henry – who is more sedate in this novel than he is in many of the other books by Carter Dickson – apparently is in charge of British intelligence, and he has had his eye on that movie studio for a while. And he will eventually unravel the mysterious events and attacks that have taken place. Sir Henry doesn’t appear until about halfway through the novel, and he’s offstage – or, I suppose, off-screen – for most of the case. There’s humor in his irascibility, but little of the buffoonish behavior which lessens my enjoyment of some of these books.
There’s also humor in some of the trappings of movie-making – not surprising, perhaps, given Carr’s own unhappy movie-making experiences. There is, for example, a Mr. Aaronson, a short, fat producer who is producing a movie biography of that great British war hero, the Duke of Wellington. Mr. Aaronson is making what he considers improvements in the movie’s script, such as adding a couple of songs the night before the battle, or arranging it so that the Duke can’t get to the battle but instead imagines his troops are fighting it. All intended to make it the movie more popular, of course; as Bill Cartwright points out, if that movie ever does get produced, it’s going to be a joy and a delight...
But the murderous attacks are at the center of the plot, together with suspicions of espionage. And I do have a complaint that I suspect you may share if you read the book. John Dickson Carr was the master of the impossible crime and also of playing what he called the grandest game with the reader. He sets up certain rules for himself and expects the reader to play by those same rules. All I can say – without spoilers – is that I think he violates one of those cardinal rules at a critical point in the book. There’s a great deal of entertainment here, and a good solid mystery – but something also happens which I think violates that understanding between the author and the reader.
Still, for the characters, for the film industry byplay, and for the plot, you will most likely enjoy And So to Murder, written by John Dickson Carr as Carter Dickson. At the moment, I think, it’s out of print, but there is an e-book edition available and I recommend it to you.
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You can listen to the original audio review by clicking here.
Next: They Found Him Dead, by Georgette Heyer.
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