Murder on the Purple Water

 Murder on the Purple Water (1947) by Frances Crane

Entry number ten in the Pat and Jean Abbott mysteries find our bantering couple on a fishing vacation in Key West with their friend, Captain Bill Jonas of the New Orleans police. They've booked Cy Martingale's charter boat for a few days of deep sea fishing, but before they even get a chance to get onboard, Martingale's boat becomes the scene for murder and the Abbotts and Jonas are reeled into the investigation. Jonas is friends with police chief and since the chief is deep in the swamps on a fishing trip of his own and the department is already dealing with a double killing, the New Orleans captain is asked to manage the investigation until the local chief returns.

The fishing party booked just prior to the Abbotts consisted of the host Dixon Whitehead, a millionaire who doesn't much explain where those millions came from; Stephen Ashley, an artist--or so he says--whose work Whitehead has been supporting; Julia Deane, the lovely young woman whom Whitehead thinks he'll marry; her mother Katherine Deane, a beauty in her own right; their friend Priscilla Braden, a wealthy woman who bought the Deanes' home when the family needed money; and two gatecrashers--Gerald Deane, Katherine's estranged husband, and Zada Corday, Martingale's niece and Gerald's current "other woman."

Whitehead's party seemed doomed to fail from the start. Zada realized immediately that they hadn't been invited (despite what Gerald told her) and spent the day in a sulk, refusing all efforts by the others to smooth things over. Martingale is none too happy to see his niece hooked up with Gerald--a drunk and general louse, nor to see his friend Katherine have to endure her drunken husband's presence. Gerald arrived with several drinks already under his belt and got progressively drunker and more offensive as the day went on. When he finally goes below to sleep it off, everyone is relieved and the day gets slightly better when Dixon and Priscilla land a few sailfish. The party doesn't even mind when Gerald stays below after the boat returns to dock. But when Captain Martingale goes below to finally deal with his drunken passenger, he finds Deane dead--stabbed with a fish knife.

Martingale doesn't like the police, so, thinking he might avoid official bother, he calls his friend Pat Abbott and asks him to investigate. But Abbott doesn't want to get on the wrong side of the law and forces the captain to call in the police--who, as mentioned, turn to Abbott's friend Captain Jonas. With the suspects telling lies or disappearing altogether, Jonas and the Abbotts have their hands full. And just what is Ashley doing skulking around? Does he really work for Whitehead or does he have an agenda of his own? Our detectives will need to find out before they can solve this one.

This is one of the more tightly plotted of the Crane mysteries. Jean does a bit of her dashing off into trouble antics, but not as much as in some of the stories. She is up to form when it comes to deciding who the killer is--that is to say, every time a new clue comes up she changes her mind and this time she's sure, by golly. It's always fun to see how her logic is going to work...and whether or not she winds up being right (usually not...but she occasionally picks a winner). I'm sure some will be offended by racial references in this story, but it's important to note that Crane always puts such references in the mouths of characters we are not supposed to like and she uses events to underline the fact that her main and more likeable characters do not feel that way. And, in fact, that right-thinking, more civilized people do not feel that way. This isn't surprising from a woman who was expelled from Germany for her anti-Nazi actions during the 1930s and who wrote articles afterwards criticizing the regime.

A highly enjoyable, quick-pace mystery. ★★★★

First line: It was ten minutes past five that Friday afternoon in April when Gerald Deane sauntered across the cockpit of the charter boat Margaret and vanished down the three steps that led to the cabin.

Last line: Nobody noticed a single thing that happened on the Margaret from the time the big fish struck till it was brought to boat.

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Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one hit on head; one poisoned)