Eyes at the Window

Eyes at the Window (1966) by George Selmark

Do you ever get the feeling when you're reading a book that you're swimming against a very strong current? Or working your way through the thickest fog? Yeah, that was this book. It is only 143 pages long, but I felt like I was working very hard to get nowhere fast and I couldn't really see what was happening at all.

So what do we have here? Well...as far as I can make out: We have Agatha Virgil. She is in her 90s and, according to the village folk, crazy as a loon. She lives as a recluse--seeing only her oldest friend, Mrs. Thurston; Sister Root, the nurse who comes regularly to check on her and give her an iron injection (which the book credits as keeping her alive); her daily woman Mrs. Wansbeck; and a local farmer by the name of John Millbank who seems to act as a kind of watchdog to help keep unwanted visitors away. Miss Virgil spends her time looking into the past and talking to people who aren't there.

The past contains secrets and mysteries. For instance, what really happened to Agatha Virgil's sister Melanie? It's rumored that the sisters were rivals for the affections of William Brownlow. Melanie won the day, married Brownlow, and moved to Africa with him. Three years later, the Brownlows returned with their small son for a visit and Melanie died...supposedly of a heart condition. But was it? James Brownlow (the now middle-aged son of William and Melanie) has come from Africa with his daughter Bryony with the hopes of getting financial help from his Aunt Agatha and maybe finding out a few answers about the mother's death. It's difficult to get answers, though, when Aunt Agatha refuses to see anyone. And then a new set of deaths take place...

As mentioned, I spent the entirety of this book feeling like I was wandering around in a dense fog--seeing shadowy shapes that never quite materialized into solid objects. I think I know what happened, but I certainly would bet anything valuable on that. The mystery isn't very solidly plotted and it's really quite a mess. The most solid part of the whole thing is the motive as it's finally revealed, but you certainly aren't going to figure it out based on any clues given along the way. Selmark appears to have focused entirely on the atmosphere surrounding crazy Aunt Agatha and has wasted little time on marshaling his facts.  

Then there's the whole subplot with the beautiful (but wilful) Bryony and her romance with a mysterious young itinerant artist who just happens to be on the spot whenever something mysterious happens...like the death of Mrs. Thurston. Of course Bryony plays the part of the young woman who throughout the book can't stand the man she's going to wind up with in the end. Both the mystery and the romance are huge washouts as far as I'm concerned. A very disappointing read. ★

Quotes
[First line] The dead cat was lying at the foot of the portico steps with its teeth bared as though in fury.

Everybody wants to give advice and nobody wants to take it. Not even from the family solicitor. That's peculiar, isn't it? (Marcus Bex; p. 27)

[Last lines] She said softly, "I think I'd look rather sweet in uniform. I think I'd like to be a female copper."

Deaths = 4 (poisoned)