I read the first half of Blue Murder (1942), the third and final novel by Harriet Rutland, in a single gasp. It’s a fascinating opening, deliberately short on setting and description so as to emphasise the characters you’re going to be spending the book with, and it drew me like a moth to a flame, eager for the destruction to come. From the outset, when headteacher Mr. Hardstaffe learns that his affairs are being gossiped about by the village schoolchildren and calls them “little bastards!” for showing such disrespect, we’re clearly not in the genteel arm of GAD, and it’s only a matter of how savagely Rutland develops from here. And, as things progress, we seem to ring more than a few changes.
The Hardstaffes really are quite easy to dislike — whether we see them in action (hypochondriac Mrs. Hardstaffe’s insulation for the real world is gorgeously shown in her wittering about sugar rations early on), or learn about their less pleasant characteristics through others (Leda’s treatment of the housemaid Frieda, say). But, in fact, Rutland is also keen for everyone to have more than just one side to them: Superintendent Cheam is as charming at times as he is brusque at others (“It’s evidence I want, not a character study,” he snaps when told that while not actually seen committing an act, it would be “in character” for the person suspected) and the moral laxity of otherwise likeable characters on display would keep Mary Whitehouse busy for a month.
And so of course someone is going to get murdered, and of course we’re going to play around with the notion of detective fiction by having fading novelist Arthur Smith trying to cash in on the current popularity of murder mysteries by writing one and making the Hardstaffes characters in his book. In one amusing swipe at the peculiarities of amateur detectives we’re told that Arthur’s sleuth Noel Delare “made it a point of honour never to enter any room by means of the door”, and when the Oxford-educated Chief Inspector Driver from Scotland Yard appears on the scene we’re informed that he “had learned to curb the habit of flinging into the air a sudden quotation whose very aptness had only served to irritate his critics”. See? It’s that sort of GAD novel.
Rutland’s eye extends to the trenchant beyond merely the game-playing of GAD, however, to delightful effect:
This was war time, and you could not deal effectively with incendiary bombs, or stand by with a First Aid Party, in a gown which swirled around your ankles. There was, in fact little scope at all for femininity in Total War, which for the time being, and possibly for all time, had destroyed the slogan that Woman’s Place is in the Home.
See also Dr. Macalistair being next up to “face the bowling” in giving evidence at an inquest, or Superintendent Cheam trying to “frame his questions within the three-hundred-word vocabulary of a two-year-old child” when questioning Frieda whose first language is not English. And then, just as you expect you have a hold on things, Rutland darkens the palette subtly: Leda Hardstaffe’s refusal to allow German to be spoken in the house because it’s “unpatriotic”, Hardstaffe gazing at the youthful object of his affections “through the watering, bloodshot eyes of an old man”, or the melancholy reflections of the coroner at the inquest on the first victim. For all the wit on display (and, sure, not all of it lands — the dogs urinating on everything is…odd) there’s a fair amount of vinegar beneath the honey.
Naturally the Second World War looms both large and small throughout: Arnold Smith is fleeing the bombing of London, but Nether Naughton is so far removed from any action that the various drills everyone must attend take on a farcical aspect. Equally, the sheer exhaustion of living under restrictions is beginning to show — Hitler dismissed as a “little house-painter” in whom no-one has any real interest any more — and contrasts with Frieda’s experience of genuine horror and hardship as a German Jew, fleeing to a place of safety where she is belittled and abused by the people supposedly helping her. The casual anti-Semitism so jarringly on display in books of this era is something Rutland confronts quite fearlessly, from both sides, and while I’m not sure it’s entirely successful you have to acknowledge the attempt to genuinely raised some empathy for what should not be a sympathetic character.
But all this societal change on the page is also evident in the narrative developments that close out the book, and for me it falls frustratingly close to brilliant but for the fact that it sets up several question — they key, for one — that it never answers. The ending is possibly something quite new at the time, and the various pointers along the way towards that solution are undeniable…but then, equally, Rutland wishes that cake to also remain as evinced in a late chapter where a character’s name is withheld for the exact reason that it doesn’t matter who it is. However, as something that wishes to push detection more in the direction of crime fiction, this has much to recommend it to fans of both schools. It sprinkles delightful historical nuggets throughout — far from least of which is the generational war that sees younger people having options and exhibiting behaviour their elders find distasteful (a woman combing her hair in public? Egads!) as the expected roles and strata of society crumble even while the buildings remain standing — that shows very strongly the benefic results of that somewhat crabwise for of progress.
Sharp, unsparing, delightful, and clearly showing the genre’s ability to address real world issues while also managing its own subtle development. A shame my copy seems to be missing twenty chapters (immediately following Chapter XXXIX comes Chapter LX…) but, that aside, this was a delight. Shame Rutland didn’t write as many novels as Christopher Bush, eh?
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See also
Kate @ CrossExaminingCrime: This may not be a novel filled with clues and is much more dependent on psychology and relationships, but I think this is Rutland’s strongest novel having a strong Frances Iles’ flavour. The writing style, the dialogue, the tone and dark sharp humour, along with the characters mesh together cohesively to provide an ending which cracks a punch.
Nick @ The Grandest Game in the World: Rutland focuses on the characters and on her blackly comic dissection of the class system and British insularity. Despite a couple of investigating policemen, there is very little clueing or deduction. The murderer will come as no surprise; but there’s an easy naturalness and inevitability to the revelation.
The Invisible Event 
Phew! And also kind of surprised. I was quite concerned you wouldn’t enjoy it. But I am glad you did. Just got to wait for Brad to catch up now. Think he has read the other two.
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Same here. When I saw JJ was going to review this one, I expected another lukewarm, two or three star review, but maybe he’s finally coming around. Stranger things have happened this year.
DSP has revived many writers who should have been as prolific as Christopher Bush and Brian Flynn. Like Robin Forsythe, Ianthe Jerrold and Rutland. I would have welcomed more novels like the brilliant Bleeding Hooks and Blue Murder.
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Like all the best Golden Age detective novels, even when you think you know exactly what’s coming I still have the potential to surprise 🙂
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I read Bleeding Hooks pre-blog and don’t remember getting on with it as well as I did this – so there was always a risk this one might fall down for me, but with such a strong focus on the social milieu and ringing the changes in 1940s society, the pre- and post-war generations, and the changing face of the detective novel as a whole…well, how could I not thoroughly enjoy that?
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You have to give Bleeding Hooks a second shot, because pre-blog Jim might have struggled as much with Blue Murder as with Bleeding Hooks. Even your taste must have somewhat matured and fine tuned over the years. ;D
It would be interesting to see what you make of Robin Forsythe. He can be a little verbose, like Punshon, but his intricate style of plotting is as distinctive as a fingerprint. You have to read more than one novel to catch the hook of his plotting technique, but what he did with it makes his novels standout and he still doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves. I recommend The Pleasure Cruise Mystery or The Spirit Murder Mystery. I also liked Murder on Paradise Island (Robinson Crusoe mixed with murder), but plot-wise, it’s a lightweight compared to his series novels. So there’s a remote chance you’ll love Forsythe.
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There’s a moderate amount of truth in this, I cannot deny. Pre-blog Jim would not have enjoyed Freeman Wills Crofts, Anthony Rolls, Patricia McGerr, and, indeed, Blue Murder, so a re-examination of Bleeding Hooks may be on the cards…the question is when?
Forsythe I shall definitely check out, thanks for the nudge. I typically find that I get on better with verbose authors in print than ebook, so I’ll pick one of your suggestions carefully and run the terrifying risk of us agreeing for the third time in a calendar year. Maybe I better leave it until 2021, eh?
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My main issue with Forsythe’s word is how verbose his sleuth is, who can just go on and on with his theorising. TSMM was the best though IMO and did not have this issue as strongly.
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I thoroughly enjoyed Knock, Murderer, Knock and decided to parse out my Rutland. But Bleeding Hooks was harder to break into – I tried three times – so I put that aside and went straight to Blue Murder after Kate’s review. I agree with everything you say here. I think I liked the first one more, but this one is more important in terms of the transition of the genre at that all-important post-war time. I remember thinking the ending seemed . . . rushed? But it was an entertaining book and time well spent with a thoroughly unpleasant family.
TomCat, I promise you, I will get to Bleeding Hooks one of these days!!!
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I read Bleeding Hooks pre-blog and didn’t love it — the setting is interesting, but the characters and plot are just sort of…there. And the expected things happen. And the reveal at the end is nowhere close to as daring as it thinks.
Not tried KMK yet, but now I’m torn — is it as accomplished as this, or is it the stumbling, voice-finding effort of BH? And, when that’s read…we’re done. No more Rutland. So I want to read it, because it could be another belter like this, but even if it is…then I have to go and find someone else to provide that sort of book.
Man, the trials of the GAD enthusiast, eh?
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“TomCat, I promise you, I will get to Bleeding Hooks one of these days!!!”
You said the same about Nicholas Wilde’s Death Knell!!!
“I read Bleeding Hooks pre-blog and didn’t love it”
My disgust is immeasurable.
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I’m confused — I did say the same about Death Knell and I reviewed it, like seven months ago. What have a missed?
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Brad got himself a copy and promised to review it, but we’re still waiting for it.
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Ah, yes, I forget that not all comments here are aimed at me; sorry, been a busy morning!
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I felt KMK was the weakest of the 3. I managed to clock the killer quite early on – one of those annoying cases of just noticing one slight thing and everything falling into place.
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So much to comment on here:
Regarding Blue Murder – I can’t compare it to Bleeding Hooks because I haven’t read the latter. All I can say is that it was easier for me to get into than the fishing book, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. However, if you’re looking for another game-changer, JJ, you probably won’t find it there. It’s just a good ol’ whodunnit set in a healing waters sort of hotel with some great characters. I did NOT pick up on the solution like Kate, but then she’s way more clever than me, having raised many goats and chickens, not to mention learning to read 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,003 words per minute.
Regarding TomCat: I don’t know whether to feel peeved that Mother told me to clean up my room or flattered that you even remembered my broken promise. I completely forgot about Death Knell, but I’ve taken it off the shelf and put it on the stack, whatever that means. Meanwhile, didn’t I RUSH to cover Jack Vance after you wrote about him?? Haven’t I done my duty with Harriette Ashbrook? You can’t believe what a massive TBR resides on my shelves today! Ands I’m not even going to mention how many books have remained unopened on my Kindle since 2016, including three Punshons, two by Annie Haynes, and evidently the wrong Robin Forsythe. (Evidently, JJ is correct about e-books, but maybe Who Killed Charmian Karslake? did a number on my head!)
This is the lot of the GAD fan: we go into a flurry over the latest releases and pick up a dozen titles for 99 cents each on Kindle or fight over the one overpriced copy available on eBay of something John Norris mentioned or stumble greedily out of the used bookstore with three Quentins, two McCloys, and a Gribble hidden behind a wrapping of plain brown paper, or joyfully unwrap the goods from our Secret Santa (sorry about that Derek Smith theatrical mystery from three years ago, JJ, I WILL get to it soon) . . . and then they all sit on a stack for years. And then, to add insult to injury, we moan about the house, complaining that we don’t have anything to read!!
I need a spanking, TomCat, there’s no denying it.
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“You can’t believe what a massive TBR resides on my shelves today!”
That’s your excuse? Full shelves? My TBR pile has gained sentience and an attitude. Last week it asked me if I liked detective stories (sure) and threw Ellery Queen’s 101 Years’ Entertainment in my face. It then chuckled as it shoveled away.
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I’ve been meaning to try Rutland for a while, given TomCat’s enthusiasm for her.
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