Hutchinson Crime Book No. 30 Jarrolds' 'Jackdaw' No. 22
I now have two more Walter S. Masterman mystery/crime stories under my belt. The Blood-Hounds Bay is the first paperback I have purchased in Hutchinson's Crime-Book Society Series. The latter are quite hard to find in decent condition. I must not get drawn in to another pursuit of 'sets', as I see there were 33 Published by 1938, with Further titles in preparation. Masterman's novel is quite well knit together, with a horrific murder as early as page 11 and a quite intricate pursuit of clues, which include secret passages and a vault in a gloomy mansion's private chapel. The setting is the ancient 'Abbey' of Severinge, where the elderly Sir Henry Severinge has been somewhat of a recluse. An interesting angle is that the young 'hero' not only is a foundling but has engaged in petty crime for much of his life: He mixed with men - good and evil - and learnt much... He had known the underworld - had been taught to thieve or keep watch while others did; honesty and dishonesty came alike to him, as long as he could fill his stomach and have small sums to spend. So, he is the curate's egg - good in parts. The development of the plot draws him in to the quest for the murderer, mainly because he not only witnessed the murder (he was about to burgle the abbey at the time) but he glimpses a girl from a first floor window as he escapes: women did not interest him. Here was a vision that would remain with him to his last day. The end of the novel comes before his Day of Judgement. In fact, dear reader, he marries Sylvia, the girl, and, presumably, lives happily ever after.
There are the usual cast members - a long-serving and rather mysterious butler, James; Bert Hucks, an ex-pugilist innkeeper; Mrs Thornton, a nasty busybody who works for Sir Henry; Colonel Graham, a retired officer of the old school, who exercised the self-assurance that comes from generations of ruling and kept the ferocious blood-hounds of the book's title; and young Richard Selden, sent by Scotland Yard and who's been trained in the very latest methods, and has passed through the school with distinction; a local Plod, Hutchins, whose nose is put out of joint by the presence of Selden. There are also the naughty Lady Severinge who is engaged in a not very clandestine affair with Eric Colindale, the land agent. Essentially it's a tale of cold revenge - but by whom? Selden and 'Jack Reid', the aforementioned hero of the story, eventually track down the culprits, after one or two red herrings and grisly descriptions.
The Baddington Horror is in the 'Jackdaw Library' and is last of the general series, before Jarrolds started the Jackdaw 'Crime' books. It is in the same vein as The Blood-Hounds Bay and cleverer readers than me could immediately tell it was another Masterman tale. There is once again a mysterious house - Baddington Court; an old owner, the deeply unpleasant and hated Sir Ernest Faber, judge of the High Court; another young hero with a mysterious past, Henry Forster, who falls in love with Doreen Glynne (he rescues her from a London Underground track), the step-daughter of Sir Ernest; an allegedly deaf old gardener, Giles; a half-witted young village boy, named Peters; a Scotland Yard detective - but an elderly one who has retired, Sir Arthur Sinclair; a seeming villain, an ex-prisoner named Banks; and, inevitably, a butler - long-serving William.
This time the murder is announced on the very first page. The quest is to work out how the murdered man ghost-like reappears; what is the secret of the enclosed garden, where the murder took place; who is not telling all they know; and which are the red herrings. There is again a local pub, no bloodhounds, but something 'nasty in the woodshed' - the problem is, where is the secret door? Did the butler do it, or was it the family lawyer? Masterman weaves his undoubtedly skilful spell again. The characters stand up and the scenes are well laid out. I'm sure it won't be the last story I read of his - as long as they are in 1930s paperback format!
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