Mon 13 Jul 2009
PHILIP CLARK – The Dark River.
Perennial Library; paperback reprint, 1985. Hardcover edition: Simon & Schuster/Inner Sanctum, 1949. Hardcover reprints: Detective Book Club, 3-in-1 edition, July 1949; Garland [50 Classics of Crime Fiction, 1950-1975], 1983.
Do you believe in coincidence? Coincidences that occur in works of fiction are usually tough to swallow, at least for me. I remember one mystery in which a character defended the coincidences that made the plot come together by saying something like, If coincidences didn’t happen, why do we have a word for them?
And yet, when they happen in the course of everyday living, as they invariably do, we have to accept them. But what are the odds, I ask, of picking up two books to read, at random, and have them start out with essentially the same plot? A husband and wife, he very jealous, she innocent. He strikes her, without warning, and very soon thereafter, he ends up dead.
At which point the two books diverge, this one and Woman on the Roof, by Mignon G. Eberhart, reviewed here earlier on this blog, but the similarity was simply amazing. In The Dark River, the wife gradually begins to realize that her neighbors in Charleston, South Carolina, think she is responsible, and perhaps even her friends.
On the back cover is a quote from Jacques Barzun praising this book as “Classical detection of the best period,” and except for one small matter, he’s right. The details of the motive for the killing are unfortunately withheld until the very end, but other than that, Judy Rossler’s attempt to defend her reputation by finding the killer herself poses an intellectual challenge that’s both gripping and (in the end) satisfying.
Philip Clark wrote only one other earlier mystery besides this one (Flight into Darkness, 1948), which is surprising, since he’s a very perceptive writer. His characters ring absolutely true, and he has total control of this rather moody and introspective tale from beginning to end.
In that regard, here’s a quote from page 62 that might be appropriate:
Even though it falls an inch or so short of being a masterpiece, this rather obscure and old-fashioned detective novel is exactly the kind of book I read mysteries for.
July 14th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
This and Flight Into Darkness are both superior examples of the form. I think Clark’s novel is different from the Eberhart mostly in form with Eberhardt having a bit more emphasis on the romantic suspense elements — but not too much more. I would rate the Clark as a better and more important book, but both are good examples of why we read this genre.