The Murder of Eve: A Golden Age Mystery

by Moray Dalton

"Life hasn't always been easy here, but nobody has tried to murder me before." Roger Fordyce, a little battered by an unhappy affair, visits the Albergo Del Castello, a splendid hotel located in a little town outside Rome. While wandering the grounds one morning, Roger believes he sees a dead body with long black hair floating in a water tank. The hotel-owner dismisses the corpse as the body of a mongrel dog, and Roger returns to England. Little does he heed the ripples now set in motion, which will have fearsome consequences for himself and many others. Before long Roger is forced back to Italy, having joined forces with an unlikely band of amateur sleuths, including British writer Francis Gale, his schoolgirl daughter Anne, disgraced piano teacher Lily, earnest British embassy official Ronald, and the high-born Marchese Luigi de Sanctis. The Murder of Eve was first published in 1945. This new edition includes an introduction and afterword by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.

Genres: Mystery

327 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 3, 2023

About the author

Pseudonym of Katherine Mary Deville Dalton Renoir (1881-1963)

Katherine Dalton was born in Hammersmith, London in 1881, the only child of a Canadian father and English mother. The author wrote two well-received early novels, Olive in Italy (1909), and The Sword of Love (1920). However, her career in crime fiction did not begin until 1924, after which Moray Dalton published twenty-nine mysteries, the last in 1951. The majority of these feature her recurring sleuths, Scotland Yard inspector Hugh Collier and private inquiry agent Hermann Glide. Moray Dalton married Louis Jean Renoir in 1921, and the couple had a son a year later. The author lived on the south coast of England for the majority of her life following the marriage. She died in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1963.

Reviews

[Gina House · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling international mystery!

I don't want to say too much about this book and spoil the adventure, but it was really good! The unexpected disappearance of an author's daughter in England starts the ball rolling for the discovery of a woman's murder in Italy.

The beginning of the book is mostly the set-up of the characters, but in a cozy and interesting way. After just a few chapters into the intriguing story, the reader is whisked off to Italy and the action is non-stop.

Even though this plot was a little confusing and dives deep into the world of the Italian Camorra mafia (which isn't quite my style), I still loved Moray Dalton's writing style and her character development.

There are many cozy details in this book, despite the non-stop investigation (on many sides) and (for me) the unfamiliarity of Italy's history.

This stand-alone golden age mystery was really interesting and I enjoyed it. The last chapter was a little unsatisfying but, overall, it was a great read.

Many, many thanks to my dear friend Caro (@carosbookcase) for gifting me this wonderful mystery from Dean Street Press!!

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for readers who want to see evil people get what's coming to them | I've read nearly all of Dalton's books now, barring the Christmas one that's waiting until the season and the other Italy one, which, after The Murder of Eve, I almost certainly won't bother with. The rest of her books are well worth the read, but you can tell she wrote this during the War, at a time of gloom and privation. It's not an enjoyable read. It's also not a mystery. At no point is the reader wondering who killed whom, it's a thriller, about sex trafficking and the Camorra, drug addicts and unfaithful wives, terrible people doing terrible things for power and money, and mostly suffering no repercussions. A man who made a stupid choice through immaturity is murdered, and a nice woman is nearly killed and permanently traumatized, while an entire family of good people has to leave their home country for safety, and in the end it turns out none of it was ever necessary. It all left me with a feeling of hopeless futility, that when good people step up to try to help and do the right thing, they are the ones that suffer, and help no one. Read Dalton, absolutely. Just...read one of her actual mysteries.
Side note: so weird that the preface by Curtis Evans describes Lily as a disgraced piano teacher. She was an English teacher. The word "piano" only appears in the text three times, when people hear a young man playing in another room.

[Meghan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof, this was disappointing. I've really enjoyed the Moray Dalton I've read so far, and I love Dean Street Press, so I feel like a shit panning this--but I haaaaated it. It's one of Dalton's later books but reads like a first-time novelist, full of cheap cliches and lazy characterisation. We're supposed to continue rooting for characters who make the most bafflingly stupid decisions, and I suppose be entertained by the constant its-a-me, Mario-style descriptions of Italy.

I finished it because I was convinced Dalton would at least turn things around with a satisfying ending, but--nope. If anything it's a cruel joke on those of us who stuck around for the whole thing.

Go buy a book from Dean Street Press. Buy five! But, erm, don't make any of them this one.

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well-written but So Unsatisfying

This is the most depressing, unsatisfying, disappointing golden age mystery I have ever read. And I have read a lot, including many by this author. I think Moray Dalton was going through her “blue period” when she wrote this one. Good Lord.