Somewhere back in the far-distant past I bought a bunch of books by this author that still look brand spanking new, even though they were published in the 1970s, still in their original dust jackets. But for those who decide they're interested in seeking out some of these older British mystery novels, Felony and Mayhem Press, which one can find here , has many of Radley's books in nice new covers. I buy a lot of F & M books, and they're quite worth owning. What I really enjoy about F&M is that a lot of old titles are resurfacing -- and it's always been my contention that old books should receive as much of a reader's attention as the latest ones -- you never know what you're going to find.
One more word about the title of this book. Death in the Morning was written in 1978, and was published as Death and the Maiden. This happens a lot -- you know, where titles are switched between the country in which they're written and the US. The reason I bring it up is I think the original title works much better. As an aside, there's also a book called Death and the Maiden, written in 1947 by Gladys Mitchell, who wrote the Mrs. Bradley mysteries (it's like #21 in the series or so).
but I digress -- now to Death in the Morning.
This is a mystery series opener, introducing Chief Inspector Douglas Quantrill who lives in a small village in Suffolk called Breckham Market. His right-hand man is DS Tait, who got his job by way of "graduate entry..., special police training and ... accelerated promotion," (8) and who feels he must prove himself to his fellow policemen. Quantrill has been working on the case of a young girl who went missing some months back, but his attention is turned to the disappearance of young Mary Gedge, who was soon to be going off to Cambridge. By all accounts, she hadn't run away, had a good family life, etc. etc., so wasn't the type to likely end up in any trouble. While Quantrill and Tait are questioning the locals for info on Mary, she is found dead in a pond, laying there like Ophelia in all of her death glory. A missing person case now becomes a suspicious death, and it is up to Quantrill to find the killer.
The core mystery here is good but even though there are plenty of suspects and a few red herrings, it's a bit predictable and easy to figure out. Normally this sounds the death knell for me as far as continuing the series, but what saves this is Radley's writing. Quantrill is an interesting person as well. Police work is in his blood, and comes before family (much to his wife's dismay), yet Radley makes him into a human being. Hopefully he becomes a bit more fleshed out as the series progresses. And then there's Tait -- one of those eager and ambitious souls who wants to prove himself and continue his quick rise up the ladder -- he's a character to watch in the next few books.
Overall, this was an okay read. It's not quite a cozy, and not so much a dyed-in-the-wool police procedural, so it's a bit hard to define genre-wise. Readers who enjoy their murders set in the shadow of the quiet English village will like this one. It moves slow and there's not a lot of action, but it's well written.
#2 in the series is The Chief Inspector's Daughter.
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