Murder Among Friends

 Murder Among Friends (1942) by Lange Lewis (Jane de Lange Lewis)

Kathryn "Kate" Farr returns to the coeducational college where just a few years ago she was a student. She has come to replace the medical school dean's secretary, Garnet Dillon, who left most abruptly, leaving a very short note behind. Kate is told by the Dean that she will find the work of an academic secretary to be different from that of the business office. There will be far less dictation and far more phone calls. Far more interaction with all sorts--from professors to students to other staff. And "all sorts of odd jobs. Odd, odd jobs..." But even that warning couldn't prepare her for the oddest job of all...discovering the body of her predecessor in the school's morgue. 

When her old friend, medical student John Greenwood, takes her on a tour of medical building they visit the labs and wander the corridors containing the professors' offices. They end the tour at the morgue where he introduces her Mr. Griswold ("Grizz"), the man in charge, and she sees a body on a table. She feels a bit out of sorts and looks away to see another body. A body of a young woman who seems to match the description of Garnet Dillon. 

Lt. Richard Tuck is an old friend of Dean Ulysses Calder and so the dean call on Tuck to come and look into things. When Tuck realizes that the woman's purse is missing, he begins to wonder if she was the latest victim of Black Overcoat, a psychotic killer who has already claimed five victims using a different murder method each time. He seems to have a preference for weapons--knives and bludgeons of all sorts, but this time the victim has been poisoned. Poisoned with digitalis, a drug that would be well-known to a school full of medical students and professors. So maybe this murder is more personal. Or maybe Black Overcoat originates from the college and had to get rid of Garnet for safety's sake. Only time and a thorough investigation will tell.

I seem to be the outlier among my friends in the Golden Age blogging world. Brad, Kate, John,  Moira, & the Puzzle Doctor all seem more excited about this one than I am. Than I should be--after all, this is one of those academic mysteries that I love. And I did enjoy that aspect of it. In fact, I actually enjoyed the book right up to the very end. I can't tell you straight up why the ending bothers me so much without spoiling things. If you really want to know, I'm going to code it all up in ROT13 and you can copy and paste in the link and decode it. 

Urer'f gur guvat. Gur zheqre vfa'g ernyyl n zheqre. V zrna, Wbuaal qbrfa'g xvyy Tnearg orpnhfr ur ungrf ure be jvyy cebsvg ol vg be gb trg eriratr be nal bs gur fgnaqneq zheqre ernfbaf. Vg'f rhgunanfvn. Fur'f tbg pnapre naq, nppbeqvat gb uvz, ercrngrqyl zragvbaf gung fur'q xvyy urefrys vs fur qvqa'g oryvrir vg jnf n fva naq jbhyq xrrc ure sebz rgreany yvsr. Wbuaal qbrfa'g ernyyl oryvrir va n crefbany urnira be uryy, fb boivbhfyl vg'f bxnl sbe uvz. Ur qbrf yvxr ure. Naq ure svnapr vf uvf orfg sevraq naq Wbuaal qrpvqrf vg'f orggre nyy nebhaq vs arvgure Tneargg abe Xheg unir gb tb guebhtu gur uryyvfu zbaguf bs pnapre. Fb, ur tvirf ure gur avpr qbfrf bs qvtvgnyvf gung jvyy rnfr ure bhg bs gur jbeyq zhpu zber tragyl guna yrhxrzvn jbhyq.

Yg. Ghpx fhfcrpgf uvz, ohg qrpvqrf gb yrg gur qrngu fyvqr nf fhvpvqr. Fb, vs ure cnegvphyne eryvtvba unf n fgvtzn nggnpurq gb fhvpvqr, gura fur'f abg tbvat gb or ohevrq jvgu shyy Puevfgvna ubabef naljnl. Gur jubyr guvat whfg yrnirf n onq synibe va zl zbhgu. 

V ubarfgyl guvax V jbhyq unir orra zber fngvfsvrq jvgu gur raqvat vs gur "juvgr fyht," Flqarl Ivarf, jbhyq unir jbhaq hc orvat abg bayl Tnearg'f xvyyre, ohg Oynpx Birepbng nf jryy. Vg frrzf n ovg qvfratrahbhf gb unir Oynpx Birepbng pnfg nf fhpu na rabezbhf erq ureevat.

But--that quibble about the ending aside, I do like Lewis's way with characterization. She makes these quirky academics come to life and I can see the university setting and types very vividly. Kate is ideal for our point of view character (especially for me since I, too, am a support staff member). She gives us the outsider's evaluation of the cast of suspects. And, since she wasn't on the spot when Garnet was killed, we feel like we can trust her to give us the truth--as far as she knows it.

The Birthday Murder remains my favorite by Lewis, but this one would have given it a better run for its money if the ending had been more satisfying to this reader. Based on my fellow GAD bloggers' reactions, your mileage may vary. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Walking again down University Avenue was like being a ghost.

Detective Richard Tuck sat and listened. While he followed perfectly the minutest ramifications of Gufferty's main thesis, and while a certain corner of his mind absently noted nine errors in grammar ranging from a mild one of a split infinitive to some staggering confusions of tense, his large deliberate hand drew doodles on a scratch pad. (p. 33)

That's sunny Southern California for you, she thought. The February night goes right through you and comes out the other side, but your breathe doesn't freeze. It must be by special arrangement with the Chamber of Commerce. (p. 92)

Last line: Then she walked quickly toward his room.
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Deaths = 5 (two hit; two natural; one poisoned--others unnamed)