Fri 20 Jan 2012
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: G. M. WILSON – I Was Murdered.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Reviews[3] Comments
William F. Deeck
G. M. WILSON – I Was Murdered. Robert Hale, UK, hardcover. Walker, US, hardcover, 1961.
Unlike one person who shall remain nameless, I have no objection to the supernatural in mystery stories as long as the author presents the occult persuasively. Wilson’s spook fits that demand, even unto the spirit’s shedding of good sense along with the removal of its physical shell.
Miss Purdy, maiden lady in her mid-50s, has been writing detective stories for 30 years. Seeking an out-of-the-way country place in which to begin her new novel, she ends up at Waterside Cottage in Norfolk.
Unfortunately, it is already occupied — by the ghost of Lilian Kemp, seemingly accidentally drowned in Liddon broad behind the cottage. The ghost takes over Miss Purdy’s mind temporarily and dictates, “I was murdered.”
In her attempts to see that justice is done so that Kemp’s spirit may be put at rest, Miss Purdy stirs up things. Another drowning in the broad occurs, this time definitely murder.
While the haunt is persuasive, the author’s characterization of Miss Purdy won’t fool you: Miss Purdy has never written a detective story, nor seemingly read one. As proof, the murderer is evident to anyone with merely a minuscule knowledge of the genre, but Miss Purdy has no suspicions.
Worse, the murderer calls Miss Purdy and tells her that there has been a dramatic development in the case and that she should meet the caller at dead of night in a deserted spot without letting anyone know of the meeting. With no hesitation she proceeds to do so. Now, I ask you: Would that be the behavior of an experienced mystery novelist? That is to say, other than James Corbett?
Wilson, I gather, wrote additional novels with a supernatural background, most of them featuring Inspector Lovick, who stolidly does not believe in the occult and, since he also does not spot the murderer, is obviously inept.
While Wilson doesn’t construct a tenable plot, she does write well and holds one’s attention.
Editorial Comments: (1) I do not know whom Bill was referring to in the first paragraph. It might have been any number of people at the time, including myself. I’m not as much of a purist as I used to be, but a lot of attempts to mix the paranormal with the detective story fall as flat to me as the proverbial flapjack.
(2) As Bill hints at and so stated by one blogger, G. M. Wilson may have been one of the first mystery writers to have combined the Mystery Story with Ghosts. Since her first book was published in 1948 (a non-Lovick), the claim seems unlikely, but if you’re so inclined, it does suggest her books may be worth tracking down.
(3) James Corbett was a particularly inept mystery writer whose work Bill was particularly fond of. But sentences like this one ought to be sign of genius, rather than a lack of skill with pen to paper, shouldn’t it? “She was visibly excited, yet not a vestige of her features betrayed her.” Follow this link for more of Deeck on Corbett.
(4) The author’s initials stood for the rather prosaic Gertrude Mary. I Was Murdered was the only one of her two dozen mysteries to be published in the US. Inspector Lovick appeared in 21 of them, and of those, Miss Purdy was on hand in twelve. Bill didn’t make much mention of Lovick, and then only disparagingly. Nonetheless, I’d like to try my hand at one, and if possible, sooner rather than later.
January 22nd, 2012 at 4:19 pm
The one GM Wilson I’ve read, “Death on a Broomstick”, was never published in the US as far as I know but it got a mass printing in paperback in the UK so copies are easily available – it was good enough that I ended up ordering another, though I haven’t gotten around to reading it. It featured Lovick and Purdy, and had a highly improbable plot that I don’t remember actually coming together in any sensible way – it included a “scandalous” pop star, pseudo-Pagan orgies on moors, helicopters, family curses, creepy dolls, an enormous feral blood-thirsty black cat (which appeared in an earlier novel, it seems) and a middle-aged hippie Voodoo priestess who’d had a mysterious bast in the Caribbean. It was all more than a little ridiculous – and it was clear that Wilson’s ideas of orgies, Voodoo, pop stars, and other things were hazy at best – but she writes well and her characters are charming and likable, and you could hardly accuse it of being boring. It was really a very charming, readable hidden gem of a novel and I’d say Wilson is well worth of being dusted off and rediscovered.
January 22nd, 2012 at 5:56 pm
It sounds as though you and Bill D. are on the same wavelength: Wilson wasn’t a great plotter, but she was a good writer and the characters are enjoyable.
That plus some bizarre settings and situations — maybe that’s enough to ask for!
I’ll see about finding copies of one or two of her books. She ought to be worth sampling.
January 22nd, 2012 at 8:52 pm
I bet he meant Jacques Barzun as the one who objected to the supernatural in the mystery. But I guess it could refer to any number of people.
I have never heard of this writer though this is supposed to be the subgenre with which I am most fascinated. There’s always someone new popping up who is a supernatural and detective novel genre blender. Last year I learned of John Blackburn and became an ardent reader of his work. This year it’s G.M. Wilson. Who will be next year? I have ordered a a copy of A DEAL OF DEATH CAPS which I am guessing based on the title and the DJ illustration to be about witchcraft. We shall see…