Secrets can't be kept

Bobby Owen Mysteries #20

by E.R. Punshon

Deep in bucolic Wychshire something dreadful is stirring … The disappearance of a club-footed and inquisitive youth leads to a tangle involving two instances of stolen jewels, a water-colour which may be the most remarkable picture ever painted … and eventually to the discovery of a body in a forest with ‘a smell of rotting, a smell of things decaying’. The scene abounds with the intense, the afflicted, and the darkly humorous in classic Punshon style. But the murderer himself is on a collision course with fate – aided of course by Inspector Bobby Owen. Secrets Can’t be Kept was first published in 1944, the twentieth of the Bobby Owen mysteries, a series eventually including thirty-five novels. This edition features a new introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans. “What is distinction? … in the works of Mr. E.R. Punshon we salute it every time.” Dorothy L. Sayers “Nineteen forty-six starts off well with this specimen of the leisurely detailed school at its soundest, with an ending which … may yet chill your blood” San Francisco Chronicle “A fine example of sound detective work” New York Times Book Review

Genres: Mystery

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Aka Robertson Halket.

E.R. Punshon (Ernest Robertson Punshon) (1872-1956) was an English novelist and literary critic of the early 20th century. He also wrote under the pseudonym Robertson Halket. Primarily writing on crime and deduction, he enjoyed some literary success in the 1930s and 1940s. Today, he is remembered, in the main, as the creator of Police Constable Bobby Owen, the protagonist of many of Punshon's novels. He reviewed many of Agatha Christie's novels for The Guardian on their first publication.

Reviews

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bobby is still in Wych County, serving as Inspector. I've been told he'll eventually get another promotion or two, but not yet. This episode begins with a young man coming to Bobby saying he knows something that might interest the police. But Ned Bloom wants something in trade and it isn't money. He wants a job as a Detective. Bobby thanks him, but says that is impossible. And then Ned Bloom goes missing.

It's hard to have a murder mystery when there is no body. Still, almost everyone, including Ned's mother and Bobby, think Ned has been murdered. More than a body is hidden in this one. It was clear to me that Bobby had some suspicions about people. I admit I didn't have a clue about almost everything.

The solution is very satisfactory. This was very good compared to the others and I'm happy to color in a 4th star.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Ned Bloom arrives in Inspector Bobby Owen’s office to suggest that he knows a secret which would be of interest to the police. In return he wants to join the police force - Bobby explains that this isn’t how the police proceed, and in any case the young man’s club foot would bar him from meeting the fitness requirements. Angry and frustrated, Ned storms out but soon after this his mother reports his disappearance, and Bobby finds himself dealing with some weirdly uncommunicative villagers as he tries to find out what happened to Ned.

This was another excellent mystery - there is a real sense of menace in the village of Threepence, and the hints of guilty pasts and buried secrets come to a chilling but exciting conclusion. To balance the darkness, Punshon makes good use of Bobby’s wife Olive who has a larger part to play than usual - at first as a sounding board (and using some gentle mockery to keep Bobby’s ego in check) and then as an assistant where her calm presence helps Bobby make sense of the case. There is also a rather comical plot line that puzzles Bobby for a while.

Again the wartime setting breaks through into the quiet world of Wychshire and its forest, with petrol rationing and nightly air attacks reminding Bobby of the wider battle that is being fought. Through it all, Bobby remains thorough and determined and firmly imposes himself on those who try to fool him., and Olive is a good and down to earth support to him. This series goes from strength to strength, and although I miss Bobby being in London and the dynamic with his first boss, I always look forward to picking up one of E. R. Punshon’s books.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This starts with a young man seeing Bobby to tell him he has some information that the police would be in. In return for this information he would like a job as detective. Bobby explains that hopeful men have to start at the bottom of the ladder and work their way up to being a detective. The drawback here is that the young man has a club foot and therefore would not be eligible for the police force. That being the case the man leaves, and is never seen again. After he has left Bobby receives three phone calls, each being from a person claiming to be the young man's mother. This makes Bobby think that the information the man was withholding must be more important than it had first seemed, so he is determined to follow up the reason for the visit and finds that Ned, the young man, never reaches his home.
As is usual for Bobby, he is backwards and forwards between his police station and the village where Ned is from. The village is full of people who did not like Ned, saying he is a terrible snoop, who likes to have a hold over people. It seems he has been threatened by quite a few people because of his snooping, and so the list of possible suspects who may have prevented Ned from getting home grows. He is assured by the mother that if Ned had decided to take himself off somewhere, he would have let this mother know. This makes Bobby decide he is investigating a murder.
This grew into an interesting case, even though no body had actually been found. It involved people who were not who they claimed to be, robbery and past murders. Olive, Bobby's wife, took quite a prominent role is this book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing that Punshon can do is ratchet up the tension which he does really well in this book. He is also a master at creating an atmosphere of dread especially, in this case, with the character of the missing man's mother, Mrs Bloom. This is number 20 in the Bobby Owen series and so far I have pretty much thoroughly enjoyed them all. The author continues to invent clever and different plot lines and strong characters. I look forward to the next one.

[Kelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Punshon is a imaginative writer who designs ingenious plots. In this case, we have a young man who enjoys snooping around and finding out other people's secrets. So, when he disappeared, Inspector Bobby Owen has no shortage of suspects. It seems everybody has a secret to keep. The book is well crafted and is well written.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent entry in the series. A mysterious disappearance (but no body), threat of a jewel theft and uncooperative villagers combine into an interesting puzzle that kept me guessing. Bobby's wife Olive has a larger role in this book and that is always welcome. She also keeps Bobby on track and humble.

[C.J. VETTER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many twists and turns.

Kept me guessing to the end as Bobby Owen interviews people and tries to find the mysterious missing busybody who knew too much about townspeople who had things to hide.