Scarhaven Keep (spoilers)

 Scarhaven Keep (1920) by J. S. Fletcher

Bassett Oliver, renowned actor and theatrical producer, is also known for his strict adherence to schedule. So, when he is half an hour late for the first rehearsal at the Theatre Royal in Norcaster, it throws his business manager Mr. Stafford into a bigger tizzy than one might expect. But Oliver has never been late for anything. Ever. The theatrical company had come into Norcaster over the weekend from their previous engagement at Northborough. Oliver's usual plan when engagements are in towns fairly close together is to travel by car and stop somewhere along the way that has interesting sights. His journey this time would have taken him along the coast--along a portion of the coast that could be very dangerous for someone unfamiliar with the terrain.

Also on hand is Richard Copplestone, a young playwright whom Oliver had just telegraphed to say he would produce his play. A meeting had been set at the Royal for Monday as well. Copplestone volunteers to go with Stafford in an attempt to retrace Oliver's steps. They fear an accident, but hope to find the actor alive. The trail leads them to the village of Scarhaven and it seems to end at Scarhaven Keep. The Keep is the home of Marston Greyle, newly-made squire of the manor who had spent his formative years in the United States. Oliver was heard to say that he had met a Marston Greyle while on tour in the States and planned to see visit the Keep and see if his Greyle and the new sauire were one and the same. Greyle claims he never arrived...and no one has seen Oliver since he started up the trail to the Keep.

Oliver's brother comes to the area and immediately fears the worst...and believes Scarhaven Keep to hold the answers. He asks Copplestone to stay in the village and "listen without seeming to listen and observe without seeming to observe." Copplestone has already developed an interest in the case (as well as Greyle's impoverished cousin, Audrey Greyle) and is more than happy to comply. He soon discovers that Marston Greyle is under the thumb of his estate manager (fears him, no less) and finds a web of motives and characters that may explain Oliver's disappearance. But is he dead--and, if so, how did he die?

Spoilers ahead! I can't really talk about my reaction without them...read at your own risk.

So--this mystery really falls more in the suspense/adventure category than well-plotted mystery. There is lots of intrigue, skulduggery, and jiggery-pokery going on. There are secrets and plots and a dose of attempted theft. I thoroughly enjoyed Copplestone and his involvement. The first few chapters when he and Stafford were playing detectives and tracking down Oliver were good, but then it took a deep dive into adventure and "let's throw the rules out the window." Oliver dies--but no one gets the blame because it's supposedly not a murder. The villains try to swindle Audrey and her mother out of their just inheritance--but everything is returned and we're not going to fuss over it. The villains of the piece get away and one of them even gets a nice pension out of it and we're all supposed to be happy. Well...I'm not. I feel cheated. No real murder. No real justice. So the ending just kind of falls flat. ★★ and 1/2

First line: Jeremy, thirty years' stage-door keeper at the Theatre Royal, Norcaster, had come to regard each successive Monday morning as a time for the renewal of old acquaintances.

Last line:"[Redacted]! Sublimely ungrateful that he isn't in Dartmoor!"
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Deaths =  4 (three natural; one fell from height)