The Case Of The Kidnapped Colonel
A review of The Case of the Kidnapped Colonel by Christopher Bush – 230113
The transformation of the character of Ludovic Travers continues apace in The Case of the Kidnapped Colonel, the twenty-fourth in Bush’s Travers series, originally published in 1942 and reissued by Dean Street Press. It is the second of his wartime trilogy and sees our hero transferred to command Camp 55 in Dalebrink Park in Derbyshire. It also includes a secret base where important research is being conducted which could transform the fortunes of the war. There is more to Travers’ appointment than meets the eye as it allows him to work alongside his old mucker, George “The General” of the Yard.
Travers plays second fiddle to Wharton, distinctly less assertive in his theories and investigative style and is reduced to providing valuable information, even if he is not aware of its import at the time. The other major change in the book is that Travers narrates the story, a first but an approach which, I am told, Bush continues throughout the rest of the series. I am usually less than convinced of the wisdom of a first party narrative bit here it works as Travers is integral to the action and not unreasonably can be portrayed as someone who has his finger vaguely near the pulse.
Another unusual feature is that the murder only occurrs relatively late in the story and the victim’s identity for many might have been a surprise. As is to be expected with Bush it is an elegant and complex plot, with plenty of twists, red herrings and not everyone or everything being quite what they initially seem. There are some fascinating insights into wartime Britain which intrigued this reader perhaps more than Bush’s contemporary readership and the tone was less jingoistic and patriotic than I might have expected. Indeed, Bush delights through Travers in pointing out some of the absurdities and pomposity of army life.
The kidnapped colonel is Colonel Brende whose wife attended Travers’ nuptials and who heads up the scientific establishment which our hero is supposed to be protecting. How did someone sneak into a heavily guarded military establishment and why did an experienced military officer allow himself to be taken without putting up much of a fight? Then there is the mysterious army officer who made an audacious escape worthy of mention in the newspapers and then turns up in Derbyshire. Is he friend or foe and why does a Nazi sympathiser, Pamela Craye, seemingly allowed untrammelled access to the camp?
The New England Group, a left-wing band of pacifists, and an over enthusiastic band of the Home Guards add to Travers’ problems, and he suffers a blow to the head at a crucial moment just to add to his woes and discomfort. In an about turn on the usual course of events Wharton is there to put the pieces into a coherent whole.
It was an enjoyable book which stood on its own merits but for those who have followed the series from the beginning is a marked and not unwelcome departure from the norm.
