CLASSIC CRIME – Oct 31, 2019

A DANGEROUS ENGAGEMENT

by Ashley Weaver (Allison & Busby £14.99, 350 pp)

A rich socialite with a talent for delving into the criminal mind, Amory Ames is off to New York for a high-society wedding. This being the roaring Twenties, law- breaking is a way of life.

Everybody involved in the wedding has links with the underworld, not least the best man, who is shot dead on the steps of the bride’s family home.

With a little help from her personal maid and her glamorous husband, Amory throws herself into an investigation that takes her into the front line of gang warfare. 

There is nothing remotely threatening in all this — not for a moment do we fear for Amory.

Rather, the pleasure is to be had in keeping track of the gyrations of a plot that allows time for our heroine to ponder the contents of her extensive wardrobe before meeting a notorious bootlegger.

A STRANGER IN MY GRAVE

by Margaret Millar (Pushkin Vertigo £8.99, 320 pp)

A horrifying dream, vivid in its intensity, leads Daisy Harker to seek the help of a private detective. 

She saw a tombstone inscribed with her name — and a date that precedes her dream by several years. What happened on that day?

Neither her husband nor her busybody mother seems to take her seriously.

Her alcoholic absentee father might throw some light, but is not easily tracked down.

Even the detective, who needs the money, finds it hard to focus on the case. 

But, as he digs into the records, a tale of subterfuge and betrayal emerges.

With her acute ear for dialogue, Millar racks up the tension. If there is a downside, it is the inconsistency in the development of the main characters.

But the revelations are as powerful as a sock on the jaw.

MAIGRET IN VICHY

by Georges Simenon (Penguin £7.99, 192 pp)

Of the recent reissues of the Maigret classics, this is one of my favourites. 

It combines all that is most appealing about the amiable, but tough-minded, policeman, his persistence in getting at the truth and his compassion for human frailty.

Maigret’s visit to Vichy is on orders from his doctor, who prescribes a pick-me-up.

There is no question of a diet, though Maigret is a heavy eater, or cutting back on drink (more than a litre of wine a day).

The restorative power of the thermal springs will do the trick — a diagnosis that tells us a lot about the easy-going Sixties.

Needless to say, while Maigret is taking the cure, he investigates the murder of an elegant lady. 

A tragedy of frustration and disillusionment unfolds.

There are ills that even Vichy cannot cure.