Stalemate is by Evelyn Berckman, an author I previously did not know. The premise is not original, (we've seen it before in books and films like Strangers on a Train), but it is what Berckman does with the theme that makes this a standout. This is her 13th title in a list of about 27 novels.
Mr. Fawsher is undersized, timid, and ugly. Whatever he tries he remains on the outside of business ventures and elite circles. This he blames on his wife, a pretty girl when they married, he sees now her as a slovenly shrew he is embarrassed to accompany to functions where a wife's presentation of social graces can get you ahead, and that is exactly where Albert Fawsher wants to be, desperately aspiring to break out of the middle circles and live in the upper class. Complaining to Braddock, an acquaintance he envies for his suave good looks and such wealth that he doesn't even need to use his majestically appointed office (it's enough that people know he has it), Braddock confesses he feels the same. He callously describes that since his wife was in a car crash that left her with scarred arms and a psychological block that prevents her from leaving the house, she has become a burden he needs to shake. Neither woman will consent to a divorce, so Braddock proposes they kill each others wives - no one would connect them with the deaths of woman they don't know, and they would have airtight alibis. You would wonder, as does Inspector Luttrell when called in to investigated both murders, at the oddness of two men socially connected in business each being widowed within a year of each other, but nothing can be proven... It seems they are getting away with it, that is, until they both become smitten with the same woman.
Fawsher resents Braddock in all ways (they are like Charles Laughton and Errol Flynn). The kind of social climber who cannot help but sabotage his own desires, you can see this arrangement will not rise Fawsher any higher. Berckman adds a few new twists in the tale, but it is her perceptive literary writing that is the standout. Each character is well drawn, with peccadillos and quirks thrown in that make them not only interesting but real. Luttrell has that sixth sense that separates the good from the distinguished officer - it has never failed him - but these men give him a clammy chill - not innocence, but by no means guilt, perhaps it is another thing entirely: cleverness.
Good characters in tense plotting, just what you hope for in a thriller like this. More important, a fresh take on an attractive motif.
1966 / Paperback / 176 pages
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