Golden Age of Detective Fiction

I’m continuing my #20booksofsummer24 challenge hosted by Cathy @746books with a forgotten gem of golden-age detective fiction: The Abbey Court Murder by Annie Haynes, published in 1923. This is the first mystery in her Inspector Furnival series, spanned three books before Haynes died in 1929. Her Inspector Furnival series and several of her stand-alone mysteries have been lovingly plucked from obscurity and reprinted by Dean Street Press.

Lady Judith Carew and her husband, Sir Anthony Carew, are attending a wedding when Sir Anthony is called away by an attendant to see his broken car. While Sir Anthony is away, Judith Carew is accosted by a man from her shadowy past who threatens to expose her to her husband and society friends. She manages to ward him off, but he gives her the address to his lodgings in Abbey Court and tells her to meet him there at 9:30 p.m. that night or else.

Frightened Lady Carew feigns illness and stays home from a swanky party at the Denboroughs’. She tries to usher her husband out of the house and to the party, but he and her maid are suspicious. After locking herself in her room for a while, she slips out of the house and into the night.

She travels to Abbey Court, where she is accosted by her first husband, who says that he was not dead as was previously reported in the papers and has hunted her down to reveal her as a bigamist. He then attempts to force himself on her, and frightened, she backs away, hitting the light switch. She is chased in the dark by her lecherous husband, who knocks over a bottle of ink before a loud shot punctuates the chase. She can hear someone breathing in the darkness, and then they slip away.

Judith Carew realizes she is alone in a room with the dead body of her husband, and no one would believe her unlikely tale- that he was shot by an unknown intruder instead of her. She flees but is met, mid-flight, by an old acquaintance of her husband’s who soon discovers her predicament and uses his knowledge to blackmail her and weasel his way into the highest echelons of society and even into her family.

Newspapers report incessantly on the crime, and Judith knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s suspected. Her husband, Sir Anthony, finds the piece of paper with the Abbey Court address given to his wife and attempts to protect her at all costs, but all sides besiege them. The Carews’ only hope is that Inspector Furnival believes Judith Carew’s incredible tale and can hunt down the natural killer with few clues.

The Review

The Abbey Court Murder is a true emotional roller coaster, with Judith’s evil first husband rising from the shadows to try to trap her in a blackmail scheme and ruin her marriage to Sir Anthony by exposing her as a bigamist. Judith Carew is like a spider to a fly and shoots when he has her in his greasy clutches!

Terror follows a moment of relief as the book makes clear there is someone else in the room, and Judith suspects the shooter is her beloved husband, Sir Anthony. When she flees, I expect a lot of tension between the lovers, but that’s only one of the layers. Judith profoundly cares for her husband and her young son, Paul, and if this murder is connected to her, she has a lot to lose.

However, the tension, which is already high, escalates when she is recognized as leaving the Abbey Court flat, and this blackmailer resurfaces as a highly respectable peer of Sir Anthony’s. Judith is still determining if this new identity is a ruse or if her previous connection to him was just him using an alias when he knew and committed crimes with her husband. She offers him financial security with a payment. Still, her blackmailer wants more than a one-time payment- he has weaseled his way into the arms of Sir Anthony’s young, pretty sister, Peggy, and she is completely besotted with this wastrel. There are definite shades of Jane Austen’s Mr. Wickham in The Abbey Court Murder. With Peggy engaged to this scoundrel, Judith is quite literally trapped.

Judith Carew’s secrets are like a scent to the bloodhound, Sir Anthony’s old flame, who is trying to capture Sir Anthony’s heart again after her husband’s sudden, tragic death. The bloodhound finds an old acquisition of Judith Carew’s and trawls her past for any muck. However, Judith is protected by her old friends, who are not taken in by the title and rank of Sir Anthony’s old beloved.

The tension has ratcheted up so high, and there’s so much terror beset against Judith that everyone, even Sir Anthony’s best friend Stephen, has noticed something amiss with the Carew, and he watches and waits. Stephen is finally pushed into action when his beloved Peggy is in the clutches of an unworthy lover. There’s so much romance and heart-wrenching that I couldn’t put the book down.

Only after so much has happened does Inspector Furnival, a friend of Stephen’s who has been investigating the case from London, move into the story. He investigates primarily in disguise and quite off-page, so I still need a clear grasp of his character. From what I gleaned, he is very emotionally intelligent and quite willing to lie or at least exist in morally gray areas in pursuit of the truth. He is not afraid to work slowly over a long period to get results and is the forerunner of the type of detective who “trusts his gut” over evidence.

If I’m honest, there was a lot of evidence against Judith Carew —all red herrings, of course.

This is the type of book where the reader will know from the start who the killer is. It’s self-evident, even with all of the well-done melodramas. I would classify it more as a howcatchem for Furnival. Furnival is slightly enigmatic since he spends most of his time in disguise, so what will hook readers is Judith Carew’s plight and then delight in her happy ending.

The Abbey Court Murder is a masterstroke of thrilling suspense and compelling romance, which, for me, more than made up for the rather obvious murderer because I was genuinely curious if they would get caught or slip away and start up another scheme elsewhere. Even though Inspector Furnival wasn’t the most fleshed-out character- I got a taste of who he is, and combined with the strength of Annie Haynes’s writing, I am genuinely excited to read more of this series and more of her work in general. The Abbey Court Murder is a must-read for lovers of golden-age detective fiction.

Annie Haynes Biography

Annie Haynes (1865–1929) was an English author known for her captivating detective fiction during the early 20th century. Born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, Haynes spent much of her early life in relative obscurity. Her career as a writer began later in life, and she quickly gained recognition for her contributions to the genre of detective fiction.

Haynes initially worked as a journalist, which helped her develop a keen sense of narrative and an eye for detail. Her transition to writing novels proved successful, as she became one of the few female authors of her time to earn acclaim in the predominantly male-dominated field of detective fiction.

She published her first novel, “The Bungalow Mystery,” in 1923, introducing readers to her distinctive style characterized by intricate plots and compelling characterizations. Haynes wrote a total of twelve novels, including “The Abbey Court Murder,” “The House in Charlton Crescent,” and “The Master of the Priory.” Her work often featured strong, intelligent female protagonists and complex, twist-laden storylines.

One of her recurring characters, Inspector Furnival, became particularly popular. Haynes’ ability to weave suspenseful narratives with well-developed characters earned her a dedicated readership. Despite her success, details about her personal life remain scarce. Haynes was known to have suffered from a prolonged illness, which eventually led to her untimely death in 1929.

After her death, Haynes’ works fell into relative obscurity until a recent resurgence of interest in Golden Age detective fiction brought her novels back into the limelight. Today, her books are appreciated for their historical significance and their contribution to the development of the detective genre.

Annie Haynes’ legacy endures as readers continue to discover and enjoy her thrilling mysteries, cementing her place as a significant figure in the world of classic crime fiction.

You can read my post detailing the 20 books I picked for the 20 Books of Summer 24 challenge here. You can read my review of Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers, the first book I read for the challenge here.