Fri 24 May 2013
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: CHRISTOPHER BUSH – The Kitchen Cake Murder.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[6] Comments
William F. Deeck
CHRISTOPHER BUSH – The Kitchen Cake Murder. William Morrow, US, hardcover, 1934. First published in the UK by Cassell, 1934, as The Case of the 100 Percent Alibis.
The British title is by far the better one here and quite descriptive. Why the U.S. publisher thought anyone would be interested in the murder of a cake baffles me. Indeed, the cake has nothing to do with the murder but with the unraveling of an ostensibly unbreakable alibi.
Frederick Lewton, blackmailer, is murdered at his home at 7:12 p.m. on a spring evening. One minute later his servant calls the police from the home to report the murder, or so it seems until it is discovered that the servant had just gotten off the 7:10 train when the call was placed. A visitor who left a few minutes before the murder has an equally iron-clad alibi. In fact, all who could be considered suspects in the murder have unimpeachable alibis.
Superintendent George Wharton of Scotland Yard by chance is with the Chief Constable when the murder is reported. He investigates but is unable to break any of the suspects’ alibis. By even greater chance, Ludovic Travers happens by. He becomes engaged in the case and discovers, by means of the cake, the clue that destroys an alibi. And then that individual produces an even more convincing alibi.
This is a novel primarily for pure puzzle fans. The mystery writer is an interesting character. The rest are the usual suspects.
May 24th, 2013 at 8:34 pm
It might not have been so when Bill wrote this review, but this is now a fairly hard book to find. Intrigued a little by his review, I went looking and on abebooks, for example, I came across only one copy for sale, and that one was a Burt hardcover reprint. Asking price? A mere $69.99
May 25th, 2013 at 2:01 am
I guess a lot of books, that are of no or little interest for a longer period, simply get lost.
Meaning, they are not placed with used book dealers, but thrown away .
Et voila- a narrow niche market with according prices .
The Doc
May 25th, 2013 at 10:21 am
Right. A lot of old book are perceived as just that, old books having no value and when some unknowing someone comes across one, off it goes to the dump.
The few that remain in existence are in the hands of collectors who actually do want them and don’t give them up.
And unless the collectors in Category B make sure their heirs know what their old books are worth, we’re right back to Category A.
May 25th, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Of the five Christopher Bush mysteries read here, far and away the best is The Case of the Good Employer (1966). This is very late in his career. But unexpectedly, it shows sound construction, good storytelling and the craftsmanship that mystery fans like.
Christopher Bush books are not much read today, even by ardent mystery lovers. If there are gems lurking in his huge output, no one seems to know which novels they are!
Bill Deeck reviewed another Christopher Bush here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=%203306
He liked it much less than The Kitchen Cake Murder.
That title is making me hungry…
May 25th, 2013 at 5:08 pm
Thanks for reminding me about Bill’s review of another of Bush’s huge output of mystery fiction. Anyone reading this should go read it, and if so, please don’t miss the long impressive list of followup comments about Bush and some of his contemporaries.
I have a few of Bush’s mysteries myself (not this one) and have enjoyed them in only a so-so fashion. (For a while in my mystery-reading career I ignored British mysteries from the 20s and 30s altogether as being predictable and boring. I was wrong on both counts.)
May 25th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
To know is different from to assume, Steve .
The Doc