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The Affair of the Sixth Button
Clifford Knight. The Affair of the Sixth Button. Philadelphia: David McKay, [1947]. First edition, first printing. Octavo. 221 pages.
221 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
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July 23, 2015
A mystery novel from 1947, set in Santa Barbara.
Marcella arrives at the home of her Aunt Daisy and find the household in an uproar : there is a strong suspicion that Lucille, Aunt Daisy's houseguest and musical protegee, has been drowned. Sure enough, Lucille's body is found in the ocean, but to everyone's surprise the autopsy reveals that she was dead before entering the water. Then follows a confusing back-and-forth of various characters arriving at Aunt Daisy's house, and going. The sheriff's detective, the dead girl's brother, a young reporter, an amateur detective, a neighbor, Aun Daisy's secretary, Aunt Daisy's artist brother.... Marcella is hounded by the fear that her brother Miles, who has just returned from the Pacific after having been considered Missing in Action, is somehow involved. And why did Lucille have a signed photograph of Miles hidden in her lingerie drawer? And why had the six buttons on the dress that Lucille had worn on the day she disappeared, been repaced?
I found the book to be confusing. There was a constant parade of people arriving at the house, which I experienced as a crude attempt to strew red herrings around. Almost every character behaved in inexplicable ways. Marcella hid important evidence from the sheriff. Miles wouldn't explain his whereabouts. Aunt Daisy's irascible neighbor popped up at the oddest moments. The sheriff rushed towards an arrest that made no sense. Aunt Daisy's secretary seems to be lying for no good reason. And so on and so forth. And some aspects of the book were hard to believe, such as that someone wanting to fake Lucille's drowning would take the girl's stockings to the beach.
Conclusion : justly forgotten thirteen-in-a-dozen mystery
Marcella arrives at the home of her Aunt Daisy and find the household in an uproar : there is a strong suspicion that Lucille, Aunt Daisy's houseguest and musical protegee, has been drowned. Sure enough, Lucille's body is found in the ocean, but to everyone's surprise the autopsy reveals that she was dead before entering the water. Then follows a confusing back-and-forth of various characters arriving at Aunt Daisy's house, and going. The sheriff's detective, the dead girl's brother, a young reporter, an amateur detective, a neighbor, Aun Daisy's secretary, Aunt Daisy's artist brother.... Marcella is hounded by the fear that her brother Miles, who has just returned from the Pacific after having been considered Missing in Action, is somehow involved. And why did Lucille have a signed photograph of Miles hidden in her lingerie drawer? And why had the six buttons on the dress that Lucille had worn on the day she disappeared, been repaced?
I found the book to be confusing. There was a constant parade of people arriving at the house, which I experienced as a crude attempt to strew red herrings around. Almost every character behaved in inexplicable ways. Marcella hid important evidence from the sheriff. Miles wouldn't explain his whereabouts. Aunt Daisy's irascible neighbor popped up at the oddest moments. The sheriff rushed towards an arrest that made no sense. Aunt Daisy's secretary seems to be lying for no good reason. And so on and so forth. And some aspects of the book were hard to believe, such as that someone wanting to fake Lucille's drowning would take the girl's stockings to the beach.
Conclusion : justly forgotten thirteen-in-a-dozen mystery
Displaying 1 of 1 review