E. C.R Lorac, Bats In The Belfry: A London Mystery, an entry in the British Crime Classics Series

E. C.R Lorac, Bats In The Belfry: A London Mystery
British Library Crime Classics 2018
© 2018 The Estate of E.C.R. Lorac
ISBN978-0-7123-5255-0
Also available as an ebook

Martin Edwards, who writes the introductions to the books in this series of reprints, sometimes (it seems to me) overstates the virtues both of the particular book and of the author.  [The one “Sgt. Cuff” book, by Gil North (Sgt. Cuff Stands Firm), I read is a good example of that.]  In this case, he writes:  “…this particular novel seems to have aroused little attention, either on first publication, or subsequently, despite its quality,” citing both the strengths of the plot and the fine descriptions of tits settings (mostly in London).  If anything, I think he undersells the virtues of Bats In The Belfry.

The cast of characters, while not extensive—only 7 or 8 have more than walk-on roles—is excellently depicted.  All of them are distinct personalities and have distinct voices.  These are members or, or close acquaintances of the novelist Bruce Attletton and his wife, the acclaimed actress Sybilla Attleton  The Scotland Yard detective, Chief Inspector Macdonald , is a low key, thorough, diligent sleuth, showing  both intelligence and imagination in his investigation.  The story opens with the aftermath of a funeral, in which Bruce’s ward (it’s about the only real cliché in the book—the ward whose life is controlled by her guardian) Elizabeth Leigh mentions the “murder party” she’s to attend, at which everyone has to concoct a plan to dispose of the corpse of the person you have just murdered—in a way that keeps you from suspicion.

And we go on from there,

Bruce has plans to go to Paris for a week or so, and one of the circle of friends in the book, Neil Rockingham, is making a separate trip there as well.  And Bruce disappears. 

We discover than a shady character named Debrette has been trying to blackmail Bruce.  Debrette has rented an old church that is about to be torn down as a sculptor’s studio.  Rockingham and Robert Grenville (journalist and suitor of Elizabeth) attempt to track Debrette down.  But he disappears.

And if anything, the complexities increase from here.  Lorac sets this all up with a deft touch, and Inspector Macdonald’s efforts to bring clarity—and an arrest—are well described and seem, in sum, quite reasonable.  By the end, I had little idea who the murderer was, but Macdonald’s explanation ties everything together nicely.  (One minor quibble I had was with the book’s title…we get the belfry alright, but not—unless I missed them—the bats.)

I’ll be on the lookout by more Lorac books (who was, in her private life Edith Caroline Rivette life).