Doom in the Midnight Sun

 

 Doom in the Midnight Sun (1944) by Eunice Mays Boyd

Our favorite grocer turned amateur detective is back for a second round of sleuthing in the wilds of Alaska/ F. Millard Smyth is visiting Harding Lake while he contemplates whether he wants to buy his friend Blaine's grocery store in Fairbanks. Blaine has a cabin on the lake which he has put at Smyth's disposal--where the little grocer can enjoy the Alaskan countryside and read his Flatfoot detective magazines to his heart's content. While there he meets the members of the Abby Association, a group of friends and relatives who have a shared interest in a mining concern. There are the Kingdom brothers, Virgil and Benny; Virgil's wife, Bella; Abby Thorne and her daughter Chris; Ethan Frazee, his uncle Trigger Joe, and his half-sister Jade Lothrop. He immediately notices the tensions between the brothers as well as between Ethan and Jade. Trigger Joe is all worked up--apparently everyone in the Association wants to sell out except him, and it's an all or none deal. 

Mysterious goings on also get the amateur sleuth's attention--clandestine meetings between various Association members, "Dipper" symbols left along the paths winding through the cabins, flashlight signals, and someone has been getting into his cabin. When Trigger Joe's body is found with a bullet in the heart in a burning empty cabin, it looks like someone got impatient for the the sale to go through. Do any of the mysterious activities have anything to do with the murder? Smyth is eager to put his Flatfoot skills to work, but the deputy marshall who shows up to take charge of the investigation isn't inclined to accept amateur help. He isn't swayed by Smyth's success in the earlier case involving the Senator's daughter (Murder Breaks Trail). So, Smyth teams up with a set of boy scouts (in Benny Kingdom's charge), all improbably named Bill and so known as One, Two, & Three, to do what they can to clear up the mystery.

Bits and pieces of Trigger Joe's most recent will--which left his assets divided between Ethan and Jade--are discovered. Since the previous (and still existing) will left it all to Ethan, suspicion rests on Ethan for a while. But then other evidence is found that spreads the suspicion around. A second murder takes place and Smyth comes up with a plan to draw the killer into the open, but will the little grocer survive long enough to tell the deputy marshall who it is?

As with the first Smyth story, we have a closed circle mystery. A storm cuts the lake residents off from the main roads and the marshall arrives by plane--there is no other way in or out. Boyd also gives us a memorable cast of characters with well-developed backgrounds and built-in tension. The brothers have always been rivals with Virgil, the "King," outshining his brother on every score. Ethan and Jade have never gotten along either and Chris has always envied Bella's luck in capturing the King. We have another compelling background character in the Alaskan landscape. The area around the lake comes alive and seems intent on keeping the group stranded until the killer can be caught. 

I found the story to be tightly plotted and enjoyable overall, but I have to say that Smyth seemed much more diffident and nervous in his amateur investigations than in the first novel. One would (and did) expect him to be more confident after his success in Murder Breaks Trail, but he stutters his way through several discussions of the murders and clues. I'm also really curious (and this is just me wondering about things)--why on earth does Smyth go off to Harden Lake in the first place? If he's thinking about buying a grocery store, why isn't he in Fairbanks where the store is? You'd think he'd want to get the lay of the land of the place he was going to be--not off in the wild. It's not like the man actually swims (everyone else does) or boats or really seems to enjoy doing outdoorsy stuff. He likes looking at the scenery, but that's about it.

But--despite my slight quibbles over Smyth--this is an entertaining mystery and I once again appreciated getting a glimpse of Alaska in the early years before statehood. I'm grateful to Boyd's goddaughter, Elizabeth Aden, for sending me a copy to review. These novels have been difficult to get hold of and she has had them reprinted as well as publishing several novels that were left unpublished at Boyd's death. I recommend you check them out. I accepted this free copy* with the understanding that I would provide an honest review and have received no other compensation of any kind. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: F. Millard Smyth snugged the magazines in the crook of his elbow, hitched the sack of jumbled clothes and groceries higher on his shoulder, and wondered how much farther he had to walk.

Last line: "I'm going to buy Blaine's grocery."
*****************

Deaths = 8 (two shot; one rockslide; two in fire; one car accident; one strangled' one drowned)

*I had forgotten that a good friend had given me a hard copy of this last year--so this also counts as an owned book for Mount TBR.