Markham, Virgil - Shock (1930) aka The Black Door

B

Family extermination in Otranto-inspired castle off the Welsh coast—a splendid situation, the potential of which Markham exploits to the fullest: sea, secret passages, ruined buildings, storms, nocturnal adventures, et cetera.  Understandably, the book is mystery rather than detection.  However, the solution doesn’t live up to the situation.  The murderer’s identity ***(aged head of the family, really his cousin and blood rival in disguise)*** is a good surprise (I only realised at the point I was meant to), but his motivation is weak (insanity—a cop-out explanation, particularly for Norshire’s Grand Guignol murder: the meaningless contents of his pockets; who put his shoe on; statue wearing necktie and shoe), and the explanation (murderer’s memoirs) is too long drawn out.  Still, highly enjoyable—with reservations.

·        American title much better, for once, than the British: Shock!

·        Comparable to Carr: writer is an American Anglophile; books are gothic (castles / old houses, family curses, legends, impossible crimes, ghosts, insanity); hero is American young man abroad, who has adventures and romance.

Nick Fuller.