The Case Of The Curious Client
A review of The Case of the Curious Client by Christopher Bush – 231024
The Case of the Curious Client, astonishingly, the thirty-second novel detailing the exploits of Bush’s amateur sleuth, Ludovic Travers, marks the half way point in the long-running series. Originally published in 1947 and reissued by Dean Street Press, it explores a now overlooked aspect of the Second World War. Sussex was a hot bed of Fascist activity and after the fall of France and the introduction of Defence Regulation 18B, three-quarters of those interned were from Sussex. The first murder victim in this tale, Herbert Dorvan, is one of them.
The Old General, Wharton, has still not extricated himself from the Yard and the proposed detective agency that he will set up with Travers upon his retirement is in limbo, Travers in a sort of no man’s land, learning the ropes at the Broad Street Detective Agency under Bill Ellice while still called in on a consultancy basis by Wharton. It is while Travers is on duty at the Agency that he receives a call from Dorvan, who fears that someone is out to murder him. While they make arrangements to meet at a hotel, Travers is given a note telling him that Dorvan has had to return home, and to meet him at the village of Midgeley two days later. When Travers gets there, he finds Dorvan has been murdered.
Wharton takes over the case on behalf of the Yard and the old team are reunited as they try to work out the who and whys of the case. Wharton is back on top form, infuriating, secretive, quick to claim credit for success and distancing himself from any scheme that fails. He does the hard yards while Travers provides the inspiration. Their relationship brings even the most mundane of plots to life.
By Bush’s standards this is one of his more simple plots. There are just three plausible suspects, all nephews of the victim. Sidney Dorvan is the owner of a London nightclub, The Ginger Cat, which Travers accompanied by his wife, Bernice, who makes a welcome return, visit in the course of their investigations. Sidney is thought to have been implicated in the Fascist ring. Gerry Bruff is an impressionist with his own show on the BBC radio and it is his wife, Netta, who is the second victim. The third of the trio of suspects is Robert (Bob) Dorvan, who has just returned to England after being a prisoner of war at the hands of the Japanese. Both Gerry and Bob have distanced themselves from their uncle’s activities.
An oddly phrased telegram holds the key, or perhaps more correctly three keys, to the mystery which involves a stash of money, possibly obtained from German sources, to which access is only available by using three keys simultaneously. For security purposes each key is held by a different person. Which of the nephews needed the money desperately enough to use force and murder to get possession of the keys?
There are a couple of oddities or perhaps innovations in the investigation. A microphone is rigged up above the Golden Cat which allows Travers to overhear part, although not all, of the conversations going on below and a temporary telephone line is installed after the murder of Netta to improve the efficiency of the investigation. While eavesdropping might not be ethical, it does help matters while, in these days of instant communication, it is salutary to remember how time consuming and rudimentary even the most basic forms of communication were back then.
Such is Bush’s mastery of his chosen genre that he keeps his reader guessing as to who the culprit is right until the end. Even at the denouement, a meeting convened by Wharton to which all three nephews attend, it is still uncertain where the evidence will lead until one of them cracks. That said, it is fairly clued and the reader can piece together the evidence that leads to a certain direction, but Bush’s skill is leaving that niggling element of doubt gnawing away in the brain. It is a tour de force showing that a satisfying murder mystery story does not need a devilishly complicated plot but a skilled craftsman who can construct a clever puzzle out of even the most limited of materials.
