Death Demands An Audience was written in 1940 by Helen Reilly, a popular writer of the time, and I was sure I would find this a hit. This is a mystery written by a novelist - meaning the it lacks the action of a detective story or the introspection of a psychological mystery - leaving the construction and plotting starkly visible, with far too many characters and a cheat gimmick.
Not really successful.
Garth & Campbell's is the chic New York department store renown for their window displays. A crowd gathers on a January night outside the plate glass window as the display rises from the basement. The beautiful mannequin is overshadowed by a man's body on the floor, shot twice in the back. The store is shut down and police called in. The man was window designer Franklin Barrow, whose daughter witnessed the reveal.
When you are promised a neat mystery set in a 1940 NY department store, it's disappointing when the action moves to a rural town upstate. Barrow was connected to wealthy Luke Cambridge, the first to be interviewed when the story shifts to his large estate, followed by family including Irene, Eileen, Gregory, Leslie, Muriel, and Toby. The family wander about, followed by a police team including Todhunter, Newell, Kent, Rasmussen, Lutz, Rheinstein, Harrison, McQuillan, Beard, Peterson, Conley, Snell, Shearer, Dolan, Hogue, Duffy, Caldwell, Gault, Fishbaum, Pierson, District Attorney Dwyer, Commissioner Carrey, and heading the whole investigation Inspector Christopher McKee, who is consistently referred to as "the Scotsman". Throw in examiner Fernandez and photographer Dalligan, with store personnel Paulson, Jones, and Michael Savage, and you have far too many characters to keep track of, give any back story on, or even give anything to do. Somewhere there is a secret worth killing over, but no one including the authoress reveals any motives. Even one attempted murder and two successes fail to enliven a framework where characters wander for nearly 250 pages before suddenly! a motive! Thank you, Helen. The last 25 pages after that pack enough lies, deceit, blackmail, adultery, illegitimacy and jealousy for another novel as the truth is revealed. It's a shame Reilly didn't let us in on it earlier, even moreso that the solution appears out of nowhere, denying readers the chance to guess, but she did wrap it up with a bang.
These characters needed filling out, and I found the reading of it jumpy. He went there, she did that, they sat down, the Scotsman took his leave. There was little flow and it seemed planned, without finesse. Uninvolving but not a total loss, I expected more.
Reilly wrote around 35 popular mysteries - several featuring Inspector McKee - and three under the pseudonym Kirean Abbey. I would give her another try. Two of her daughters were authors, one being the excellent mystery writer Ursula Curtiss.
1940 / Hardcover / 275 pages
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