Mystery Review: Murder by Matchlight has Chief Inspector Macdonald (in his 26th book) investigating a murder that occurred in front of witnesses of a victim who doesn't exist. E.C.R. Lorac (1894-1958) vividly captures the war's effects on London, the Blitz and combined feelings of fear and defiance, the blackouts and sudden deaths and bombed-out streets. This isn't simply a setting but inextricably intertwined with the stories of the characters' lives and integral to the mystery itself. There are a lot of coincidences in this rather Baroque mystery well balanced by the interesting and idiosyncratic characters. In Murder by Matchlight we learn that Macdonald was an Oxford man as were so many of his detecting peers, such as Wimsey, Fell, and Alleyn. As usual Lorac also brings forth a philosophical theme for the reader to ponder while reading, here the validity of vigilantism. Whether it's ever acceptable to take the law into our own hands, whether the death of a bad person is no loss, whether the end justifies the means. In each of her books Lorac develops a moral issue for consideration. Her books always begin better than they end and there are some clumsy moments in Murder by Matchlight -- Lorac's plots are never as tidy as Christie's, but whose are, anyway. This volume also includes a very short story by Lorac from 1953, "Permanent Policeman," that turns on a matter of hairdressing that's less revelatory and relevant now, and has been used by others since. [3½★]
No comments:
Post a Comment