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The Case of the Chinese Gong

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 6 months ago

Bush, Christopher - The Case of the Chinese Gong (1935)

 

Review by Nick Fuller

4/5

One of Bush’s better books: extremely ingenious and mystifying. We have the stock situation of the elderly and unpleasant but extremely wealthy old man murdered while surrounded by his needy relatives — literally surrounded, for three of them were in the same room, and a fourth was in the summerhouse. What appears to be an impossible crime becomes even more complicated when, thanks to some fairly impressive deductions on Travers’s part, it transpires that three of the nephews were independently planning to commit murder. Here, it seems, is a situation worthy of Dr. Fell. Indeed, the solution, which predates “The Black Moment” / “Moment of Darkness” and is a reversal of The Crooked Hinge (wherein the reader, who feels that his leg has been pulled, discovers he doesn’t have one to stand on), is full of Carrian ingenuity. Unfortunately, Bush lacks Carr’s sense of showmanship, and, rather than revealing the method with a dramatic flourish as we know he is capable of (c.f. Cut Throat), chooses to adopt the more pedestrian, fairly flat approach of Major Street. We can appreciate the ingenuity, but we are not impressed, and, inevitably, slightly disappointed.


The Case of the Chinese Gong (1935) opens with a vivid and disturbing look at the Depression in Britain. The point of view is how the economic collapse affected the upper middle classes and their businesses; its effect on the working class is not much portrayed. Still, this book is a counterexample to the idea that Golden Age detective novels ignored the Depression. The novel contains an homage to G. K. Chesterton. It is an example of how Bush's interest in alibis reaches the borderline of the impossible crime tale. Bush here also shows an interest in stage trickery, just as did his contemporaries, John Dickson Carr and Dorothy L. Sayers.

 

Mike Grost


The Case of the Chinese Gong, written in the later 30s by Christopher Bush follows the sub-sub genre of Wicked Uncles Killed on Their Birthdays at Their Country Estates. There were many variations of this theme written during the Golden Age, and this novel, though not entirely original, benefits from a breezy, agreeable style, and a knowledgeable and likable detective.

 

This Wicked Uncle of Chinese Gong is murdered while playing cribbage, right in front of all the suspects. Only one nephew is away from the room during the murder, though it is proved that this young man could have murdered his uncle as well. So, the mystery is: how does one commit a murder in front of a room full of people and still have no one notice. Does this sound like a John Dickson Carr story?? It did to me, and in all the good ways.

 

Yes, this is a puzzle mystery, and if you are the type who likes clues, lots and lots of clues, you will enjoy this novel. You almost need a spreadsheet to keep track of the discarded guns, rifles, missing bullets, missing books, false statements, false identities, and multiple and misleading alibis that flow through the book. It should be noted that despite the number of clues, I felt that it was still easy enough to follow and keep track of who was who and who was where when the murder occurred. Ludovic Travers is the main detective. He is an engaging fellow and is genuinely interested in helping Major Tempest, the representative of the police. Their discussions are lively and just long enough to avoid boredom from the reader. I especially liked Tempest if only for the fact that he was not portrayed as an 'idiot friend'.

 

The ending of the novel could have been more dramatic, as Carr was likely to do, considering that we are dealing with 'miracles', but overall the solution is satisfying.

 

I read Chinese Gong because I read positive comments of Christopher Bush on Nick Fuller's detective website. I agree that this is an author that should not fade away, although there are signs that this is just what is happening. If you have a chance to find this novel, I would recommend it for a nice weekend read.

 

Richard Liedholm

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