The Belgrave Manor Crime (1935) by Moray Dalton, for #RIPXVIII

🔴 I must thank Dean Street Press for recommending this book for Halloween read; it is a wonderful crime story, and, with occultism and a satanist rite, made it a perfect read for Halloween.

🔴 Cosmo Thor is a psychic investigator (of course he is, with a name like that!), thus an authority in occult sciences. On board a train, he met Madame Luna, a downtrodden palmist who had been unjustly imprisoned, and now was going home to pick up her daughter, whom a philanthropist woman has been willingly taking care of. One day Madame Luna desperately sought Thor's help when he's not home. But when he knew about it, he couldn't find her. He confides in his friend, Inspector Hugh Collier, about this puzzling incident, and later find out that she was actually dead, murdered.

🔴 Tracing her footsteps, Thor visits the Belgrave Manor, where Mrs. Maulfry, a wealthy eccentric philanthropist, is keeping Allie, Madame Luna's little beloved daughter. She hires a governess, a Miss Kent, to look after the child. But the whole arrangement is hushed up and very suspicious to Thor.

🔴 Thor makes friend with Dennis Garland, the property agent who'd rented the Belgrave Manor to Mrs. Maulfry. The young man is infatuated with Miss Kent. Then a series of sinister things happen. Thor escaped a grave accident after having invited to dinner at Belgrave Manor, and is now unconscious. With no evidence of foul play, but only strong instinct, Inspector Collier decides to unofficially investigate the case during his holiday, without backup from Scotland Yard.

🔴 This was the 5th book in the series, and I found that Inspector Collier is none the wiser than in his first case in One by One They Disappeared. He talks too much about the case to persons involved, like he trusts them too much. Not the sign of a good detective, methink, but perhaps Dalton intended him to be more believable? With the vulnerability of a human being, and not a superhero?

🔴 But besides that, this is an unusual crime story. Belgrave Manor as the setting provides an eerie atmosphere to the case - the red pillars on the hall almost felt like a living being. It was quite suspenseful when Dennis entered it in order to save the woman he loves. I loved Dennis Garland, by the way. He is a brave, dependable, and loving person. I also liked Celia Kent, though I think she is too trustworthy to her employer. When your boss must conceal you from public eyes, there's got to be something amiss, despite all the boss' kindness or charities.

🔴 The villains are mostly honorable and high ranking people, and the Superintendent's first reluctance is quite understandable. The dilemma between saving your own career (and with it, people you loved most) and seeking truth and justice is often nerve wrecking. I admired the Superintendent's decision when revealing the true identity of the Master behind the Satanic occultism rites.

🔴 All in all, it is a fast-paced, eerie, sinister, suspenseful, but enjoyable crime story with a little hint of sweet romance. Another superb writing from Dalton!

Rating: 4 / 5

This book counts for:

#RIPXVIII

British Crime Classics Challenge 2023

For Monthly Theme: Spooky Mysteries

One by One They Disappeared by Moray Dalton (1929): A Golden Age Mystery

🔹️Nine men and one cat had survived a sunken ship. The oldest - and richest - of them, Mr. Pakenham, as a token of gratitude to his fellow survivors for helping him on board the live boat, has been hosting  annual elaborate dinners for them over the years. On the last dinner, he announced that the eight of them were made joint-beneficiaries in his will.

🔹️This year, however, only two of them appeared at the dinner. Young uprising Inspector Hugh Collier from Scotland Yard was present at the same building when the two guests arrived. Therefore, when few days later he learned that one of them died from an accident, he feels that something isn't quite right, and investigates the case.

🔹️Tracing the remaining survivors, Collier finds out that several of them has been died recently. Either by accident or presumably by nature. It's clear now that it's murder for money gain. Someone, apparently, is too greedy that he wants to dip into the whole inheritance at once.

🔹️Also involved in this case is the other guest attended the dinner, a Gerald Freyne. He's attracted to a girl called Corrina, the ward of Freyne's neighbor: Mr. Stark. When Freyne disappears one day, Inspector Collier was helped by Mr. Pakenham and Jehosaphat, his beloved cat, both of whom proved to be of hugely valuable helps in solving the case.

🔹️ All in all, it was a fast-pace whodunnit murder mystery spiced with a little bit of romance. Dalton wrote this in 1929, the first book of a series. Maybe due to it being the first book, the Inspector I found isn't very smart. He made a huge blunder (which no detective should ever do) that nearly caused catastrophe to one of the innocent parties. I cringed everytime he did it, like: "Don't do that!!" Moreover, old Pakenham also inspired Collier more than once during the investigation. I do hope he'll be much developing throughout the series, since I still want to read more of it!

🔹️Of the murderer, I could guess pretty easily, so it's not a surprise. Despite of the flawed detective, I enjoyed this mystery, especially the most critical moments in the last chapters. One more thing I do not agree is the way Dalton "off-staging" the brave cat Jehoshaphat by only mentioning casually of him in a conversation (or in the narrative?) He saved a girl’s life, no less! It's not the way one treating a hero, but you can’t dictate a writer, right?

Rating: 3,5 / 5


I'm not sure whether one might call this book a cat-theme book. There's a cat, yes, and he has a substantial role in the mystery, but he makes seldom appearance and very little stage was provided for by the writer. So, I would put this book as an honorary entry to Literary Potpourri's Reading The Meow 2023.