Wallace, Edgar - The Clue of the New Pin (1923)

A book with this title was also written by Carolyn Wells.

Wallace establishes his cast with even more care than usual this time. Yeh Ling is a Chinese restauranteur and businessman in London. Jesse Trasmere is his wealthy backer, an Englishman born in China, fluent in speaking and writing Mandarin. Walters, Trasmere's valet, is a man with a past. Ursula Ardfern is an up-and-coming actress who keeps nightly appointments with Trasmere at Yeh Ling's restaurant. Rex Lander is Trasmere's impoverished nephew, and Somers 'Tab' Holland is an investigative journalist who shares a flat with him.

One day Trasmere has a visitor from China, the scruffy drunk Wellington Brown. Shortly afterwards the financier is found dead in the locked strong-room coming off his cellar. The door is locked on the outside -- but the only key is on a table near the body. Later another man dies in the same bizarre way. When Tab falls in love with Ursula it looks like he will be the third victim -- but with some help from Inspector Carver of the Yard and the respectable middle-class broker Mr. Stott, the villain's plans are foiled.

The Clue of the New Pin is as close as Wallace ever came to a conventional locked-room detective story. Even here, though, his sheer exuberance means that the investigation of the two mysterious murders is relegated to a secondary role among a variety of other attractions -- Tab's courtship, Ursula's history, the character of Yeh Ling and Jesse Trasmere's mysterious secret. But Wallace manages to keep all the balls in the air and spring his final surprise with considerable panache. An excellent Wallace and a highly entertaining book.

Jon.

The Clue of the New Pin is a fast read, rattling along after an intriguing opening in which we meet Yeh Ling, who shares the profits from his two restaurants on the first Monday of each month with Jesse Trasmere, born in China and now enormously wealthy from various commercial activities.

Returning home after one of these monthly meetings with Yeh Ling, Trasmere meets reporter Sommers 'Tab' Holland of the Daily Megaphone, who was on his way to ask Trasmere to translate a Chinese document. Holland's flatmate is old school chum and trainee architect Rex Lander. Lander is Trasmere's nephew and is in love with popular actress Ursula Ardfern. Tab meets Miss Ardfern not long afterwards by way of an interview in her theatre dressing room, during which he takes particular notice of a brooch she puts in her jewel box.

Lander mentions his uncle has a fortune stashed away in a specially constructed vault in his house. The Trasmere household is very small, featuring only a valet, Walters, and a cook/cleaner. When Trasmere is found dead, locked in the vault, it is Walters who is the immediate and obvious suspect -- particularly as he was seen fleeing the house just after the murder.

This opens up a number of questions for Holland and Inspector Carver. Why was Trasmere so keen to avoid meeting Wellington Brown, his former partner in the Mancurian Trading Syndicate, due to arrive from abroad any minute? Who are the persons observed lurking about outside Trasmere's house at night? Why is Miss Ardfern's stolen jewel box, identified by Holland because of a particular brooch it contains, in Trasmere's vault? How is it the key to the vault is found on a table *inside* the locked strongroom? And whereabouts are Walters and Brown, both of whom have disappeared?

My verdict: Since there is a limited field of suspects, the astute reader will probably deduce the culprit, but as with other endeavours getting there is half the fun. The explanation of the locked room method is extremely clever, but gave me pause. Why would the culprit leave a man shot in the back in a locked room since it was obviously murder and not suicide? All is explained in due course, and meantime readers will be interested to hear the novel features a positive view of Chinese characters.

Etext

Mary R