The Old Dark House

 The Old Dark House (aka Benighted; 1927) by J. B. Priestley

Philip and Margaret Waverton and Philip's friend Roger Penderel are driving through the mountains of Wales when a tremendous storm which brings on torrential flooding washes away the road before them. They make a desperate plunge through the waters towards a lighted house and...hopefully...refuge. They find themselves at an old, crumbling mansion which belongs to the Femm family--a strange bunch from Horace Femm who seems oddly frightened of his own home to his sister Rebecca, a ranting religious fanatic, to the voiceless, brutish servant Morgan who is apparently a dangerous devil when drunk. Unseen in the rooms above is Sir Roderick Femm, lord of the manor but unable to leave his bed. 

As the travelers and their reluctant hosts sit down to a cold supper two more stranded motorists arrive. Sir William Porterhouse and Miss Gladys Du Cane, a young chorus girl. They are all determined to make the best of the situation and after dinner they drink and play the Truth Game to keep their minds off the raging storm. Little do they know that there is another unseen resident in the mansion...one more dangerous than the rushing waters that have washed away their only hope of escape. 

This really wasn't my cup of tea (or gin...since that seems to be the drink of choice at the Femm residence). I'd previously read Priestley's Salt Is Leaving--which actually had a mystery to solve and a detective to solve it--and thought it pretty good. In that mystery, I found an entertaining story by an author with a flair for characters and dialogue. I can't say that he was in evidence here. Most of the characters are pretty dismal and he manages to kill off the one character I though interesting and was actually rooting for. I get what Priestley was doing--he was trying to show how characters change under unknown pressures and he really did a good job of getting us into the heads of these characters. The trouble is we really don't want to be inside these characters' heads. At least I don't. 

I was hoping for another entertaining mystery, but there is very little mystery here and too much talk. I will give Priestley props for characterization (I suppose it's not his fault I don't like them) and atmosphere. But the mystery is non-existent and there isn't much to be said for the resolution. When I started this review I meant to give the book two and a half stars...I've talked myself out of the extra half. ★★

First line: Margaret was saying something, but he couldn't hear a word.

Last line: "Yes," he whispered, "fast asleep."

*********************

Deaths = 5 (two natural; one blown up; two fell from height)