Two-Way Murder by E.C.R. Lorac
Two-Way Murder is a British Crime Classic that has been lost for over 60 years. Today Poisoned Pen Press has released this forgotten gem written by Edith Caroline Rivett (1894-1958), writing as E.C.R. Lorac and *Carol Carnac.
It’s a dark and misty winter night on the south coast of England in the late 1950’s. The main characters in this tale of secrets and deceit, are looking forward to the annual Hunt Ball – a most coveted social event. The ball is filled with all ranks of society, as well as some of the prettiest young women and handsomest bachelors.
Dillys Maine is a young beauty who is admired by almost every man in town – and she’ll be attending the ball. But 3 ardent suitors, in particular, are in the running: Ian Macbane is a barrister from out of town, Michael Reeve has a successful cattle business and Nicholas Brent runs a neighborhood inn – obviously only one can be the winner. All 3 men are planning on doing some serious wooing at the ball, each one hoping they will be the chosen one.
But on the night of the Hunt Ball, a corpse is found laying in the middle of the road. It’s a grim discovery. At first, it’s suspected that it was an unintentional hit and run, caused by the foggy weather conditions. But it soon becomes apparent that this was not an accident.
What is even more perplexing is that no one can correctly identify the corpse – or figure out any kind of motive for murder. Inspectors Turner and Waring are trying their best to make sense out of the whole business. But this new case is also a painful reminder to them of another unsolved mystery that happened on the eve of last year’s Hunt Ball. Local woman, Rosemary Reeve, vanished without a trace.
Rosemary’s disappearance is still talked about among the townsfolk. Some are sure she simply wanted a change of scenery – a fresh start. Some think she may have committed suicide, while others fear something far more sinister happened to her. Her brother, Michael Reeve, has given up hope of ever seeing his sister again.
The story is filled with plenty of suspects – both men and women who are covering up for others, a suspect whose family members all have questionable backgrounds, a bullying and belligerent father and a hostile pub owner. With so much lying and covering up, it’s almost impossible for the inspectors (and you) to solve this case.
This intriguing mystery was so hard to put down that I didn’t! I read it straight through, taking just a short break for lunch! This was also the last mystery written by this author before she died. Fans of Golden Age detectives and British Crime Classics will both revel and delight in this top notch tale that will keep you reading with anticipation until the very end.
I cannot say enough great things about the British Crime Classics that are being released by Poisoned Pen Press. They are truly a blast of fresh air. The good guys have no choice but to use their solid old-fashioned sleuthing skills and intuition. You won’t find them relying on forensics or DNA to weed out the killers. After all, these were all written before modern tech, before social media — even before cell phones!
Want to read more British Crime Classic reviews as well as other modern mysteries? Then be sure to visit the Books-Mystery Category on this site.
*Crossed Skis written under the name Carol Carnac was also a stellar British Crime Classic and is reviewed on this site under Books-Mystery.
A complimentary copy of this book/photo was provided by Poisoned Pen Press.