King, Rufus - Murder by Latitude (1931)

Murder by Latitude is a whodunit, but it is not especially fair play: there is not a single clue that would let the reader identify the killer. It is well written, however, and there is a small surprise twist in the solution. The book has a sustained atmosphere, and is interesting reading throughout. This shipboard novel lacks the high spirits one might associate with cruises. Instead it is mournful and elegiac in tone. It has a tragic quality, and reminds one of Melville's Moby-Dick (1851). Much of the novel involves mourning for the first victim, a member of the ship's crew. Especially close to him was a sailor on the ship. Also, a woman among the passengers was touched as well. These elegiac passages are written in King's most lyrical style. They alternate with descriptions of the sea and sailing, also written with poetic vividness. This mixture of descriptions of the sea with more philosophical material seems especially Melville like. Also like Melville, King had been a sailor in real life: The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection says that he was a ship's radio operator circa 1920, just like the first victim in Latitude. Presumably that book's portrait of ship board life is based on King's personal experience.

Murder by Latitude seems to show a gay sensibility. The first murder victim, and his close sailor friend, seem to be a loving couple in the Melville sense. Dumarque notices other men's looks. And the women in the novel who are attracted to men are perhaps surrogates for men with gay feelings.

Mike Grost

See also: http://thepassingtramp.blogspot.com/2012/08/maneaters-murder-by-latitude-1930-by.html