Put Out the Light

Antony Maitland #45

by Sara Woods

Suave, urbane barrister/detective Antony Matiland goes back into action when a series of practical jokes performed behind the scenes of a new play leads to murder

Genres: Mystery, British Literature

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

(Lana Hutton Bowen-Judd)
UK (1922 - 1986)
aka Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek

Born in England, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Filey, Yorkshire.

During the Second World War, she worked in a bank and as a solicitor's clerk in London. Here she gained much of the information later used in her novels. Lana married Anthony George Bowen-Judd on April 25, 1946. They ran a pig breeding farm between 1948 and 1954. In 1957 they moved to Nova Scotia, Canada. She worked as a registrar for St. Mary's University until 1964. In 1961 she wrote her first novel, Bloody Instructions, introducing the hero of forty-nine of her mysteries, Anthony Maitland, an English barrister.

Her last years she lived with her husband at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Reviews

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a typical Antony Maitland mystery. He is not defending someone and there is no trial suspense. Instead, Meg Hamilton is in a play that is having all kinds of mishaps. Many of the actors believe it is a ghost. Antony is asked to investigate. He is not successful in preventing injuries to two actors. It is only when someone dies that Antony is able to put the pieces together and find the killer.

I prefer the legal mysteries, but this book was fun because it brought together several regulars from other novels.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, entertaining tale. This is the first by this author that I've read which is surprising considering this is the 45th book in the Antony Maitland series. I have no way of knowing whether this is a good example of the series or not. I always like to compare some earlier works as often the later ones lose impetus. Sara Woods (aka Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek) published almost 60 books from 1961-87 & this is the first one I've come across. Huh!

This tale has a theatrical setting which we know from Ngaio Marsh & Agatha Christie can severely muddy the investigative waters because actors... act. They are also highly superstitious creatures & the catalogue of mysterious accidents plaguing the theatre makes a more pragmatic person's hunt for reason & culprit all the more difficult.

Antony Maitland seems an interesting character & I'd love to see how he developed over the years, if at all. The writing is entertaining & I enjoyed this story on the whole, but I can't imagine chasing up the series on just this one episode. My library has none - they just don't keep older books, sigh! - so it would be op shop surprises only. So many books...

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Maitland's good friend, Jeremy Skelton, decides to produce a restoration play by Sir John Cartwright. Another good friend, Meg Hamilton, is set to star. But before opening night, a series of mysterious warnings, ghostly voices, and accidents, has half the cast believing that the playwright's ghost is opposed to the play. When one of the actors breaks his leg and another is nearly gassed, Meg and Jeremy ask Anthony to investigate. But even Maitland is too late to prevent a murder. The question is, who wants to stop the play badly enough that they are willing to kill?

I really liked this book. I found it at a library sale and I was very excited because it's one I hadn't read before. I really like Woods' books and I wish they were in print. It's not the best, but it's still really good. If you can find a copy, it's worth buying.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

An outline for a 16th-century play is found and a play is written from it. A stellar cast is put together and as they practice strange things start to happen and they think the ghost of the original outline is haunting them. Then things turn violent and deadly. Maitland is called in by a friend to see if he can figure out who is up to the tricks.

I'm coming into my own again for the golden age puzzle mysteries. There is so much information one feels one must know who it is but nobody settled into my mind. This is an incredibly slow burn. Most of the scenes take place in Maitland's sitting room as "the gang" has intellectual discussions about the problem. But I have to say I loved the Britishness, the witty repartee, and not being able to figure it out. I'll try to start from the beginning but these may prove elusive to find.