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Jacob Chaos #1
Background for Murder
Dr. Maurice Royd, the head of a psychiatric hospital, is found slumped over his desk with his skull caved in. But a lack of hard evidence leaves the local police stumped. The difficulty is that there are too many people who could have murdered Dr. Royd, too many people who wished him dead. Any one of that ‘bunch of crazies’ might have yielded to the impulse to do it. Private Investigator Jacob Chaos is given the case by Scotland Yard. Now time is of the essence for Chaos as he tries to get the job done discreetly, hushing up any possibility of a scandal. But it seems there is quite a lot of funny business concerning the late Dr. Royd and digging any deeper seems to start stirring up trouble. Before he knows it, Chaos inadvertently kick-starts a killing spree. Racing against the clock with an ever growing list of suspects, Jacob Chaos must work to unravel the twisted skeins hiding the truth and catch the audacious murderer... Background for Murder is a classic whodunit and stark exposé of human horror in the tangled worlds of sanity and insanity. Nancy Bodington was born in 1912. Under the pen name of Shelley Smith , she wrote 15 crime and detective novels between 1942 and 1978. Smith is best known for The Ballard of the Running Ma and its 1963 film adaption starring Laurence Harvey and Lee Remick.
- GenresMystery
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1942
About the author
Shelley Smith
47 books9 followersPseudonym of Nancy Hermione Courlander Bodington.
Her sister Barbara published under the name Elizabeth Anthony.
Her sister Barbara published under the name Elizabeth Anthony.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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June 5, 2025Synopsis: P.I. Jacob Chaos is called in by the Yard to look into the death of the administrator of a private hospital for the mentally ill.
October 12, 2022
A weak bridge…
When Scotland Yard is baffled by a murder in a clinic for the mentally ill, they hand the case over to Jacob Chaos, a sort of consulting detective. He soon learns that the victim, Dr Maurice Royd, was a deeply unlikeable man, so there is no shortage of suspects among the staff and patients. He sets out to chat to as many people as possible, assisted by the attractive Dr Crawford who has put herself forward to be Watson to his Holmes…
Oh dear, this is another of Martin Edwards’ picks for his The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, and yet again I’m left wondering what on earth he sees in it that I’m missing. From my perspective it is dull and pedestrian, only averagely well-written and, despite there being far too long a list of potential murderers, the solution is pretty obvious almost from the start simply from the way it is written. Shelley makes little references to some of the greats of detective fiction – Christie, Conan Doyle, etc. - but sadly this merely had the effect of making me wish I was reading them rather than this. The basic idea of Scotland Yard handing over the entire investigation of a murder to a private detective was enough to destroy any credibility before the story even got underway. Even in Holmes’ time the police may have asked for his help with a tricky murder case but they didn’t then just disappear and leave him to it! By the date of this one, the idea is laughable.
First published in 1942, naturally the language around mental illness is outdated, but to be honest I find it hard to believe that anyone ever behaved like Chaos. He refers to the patients as “halfwits” and “nuts”, and to the clinic as the “nut-house” or “nut-palace”, which would be believable except for the fact that he does this to the patients’ faces. I can’t imagine that would ever have been seen as polite! Frankly, I’m only surprised that he didn’t become the second victim, and I’d probably have enjoyed the book more if he had. When he is interviewing the patients, he rarely asks them any relevant questions or elicits any useful information. Instead, Shelley uses this stream of interviews to amuse us with all the different ways being “nuts” might manifest – this one is a strutting turkey-cock, this one is suicidal, this one thinks he’s still in WW1, this one bursts into tears without provocation, etc. It’s shallow and cheap, and not nearly as entertaining as she presumably meant it to be. Sure, I’m seeing it through more sensitive modern eyes but I’m fairly confident I would have found it pretty shabby even back then – I hope I would, anyway.
Suffice to say by 40% I’d had enough, skipped to the end and confirmed yes, the person I thought had done it had indeed done it.
This comes under “The Way Ahead” section in Edwards’ book, which is designed to give a flavour of the period between the true Golden Age and the new breed of crime writers about to burst on the post-war scene – PD James, Julian Symons, etc. The mental illness aspects in this one could indeed have provided that kind of bridge, but I felt they were handled so superficially and badly that the book was a reflection of neither the plotting skills of the Golden Agers nor the greater psychological depth for which the later authors strove. Another one that I feel has been justifiably forgotten.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When Scotland Yard is baffled by a murder in a clinic for the mentally ill, they hand the case over to Jacob Chaos, a sort of consulting detective. He soon learns that the victim, Dr Maurice Royd, was a deeply unlikeable man, so there is no shortage of suspects among the staff and patients. He sets out to chat to as many people as possible, assisted by the attractive Dr Crawford who has put herself forward to be Watson to his Holmes…
Oh dear, this is another of Martin Edwards’ picks for his The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, and yet again I’m left wondering what on earth he sees in it that I’m missing. From my perspective it is dull and pedestrian, only averagely well-written and, despite there being far too long a list of potential murderers, the solution is pretty obvious almost from the start simply from the way it is written. Shelley makes little references to some of the greats of detective fiction – Christie, Conan Doyle, etc. - but sadly this merely had the effect of making me wish I was reading them rather than this. The basic idea of Scotland Yard handing over the entire investigation of a murder to a private detective was enough to destroy any credibility before the story even got underway. Even in Holmes’ time the police may have asked for his help with a tricky murder case but they didn’t then just disappear and leave him to it! By the date of this one, the idea is laughable.
First published in 1942, naturally the language around mental illness is outdated, but to be honest I find it hard to believe that anyone ever behaved like Chaos. He refers to the patients as “halfwits” and “nuts”, and to the clinic as the “nut-house” or “nut-palace”, which would be believable except for the fact that he does this to the patients’ faces. I can’t imagine that would ever have been seen as polite! Frankly, I’m only surprised that he didn’t become the second victim, and I’d probably have enjoyed the book more if he had. When he is interviewing the patients, he rarely asks them any relevant questions or elicits any useful information. Instead, Shelley uses this stream of interviews to amuse us with all the different ways being “nuts” might manifest – this one is a strutting turkey-cock, this one is suicidal, this one thinks he’s still in WW1, this one bursts into tears without provocation, etc. It’s shallow and cheap, and not nearly as entertaining as she presumably meant it to be. Sure, I’m seeing it through more sensitive modern eyes but I’m fairly confident I would have found it pretty shabby even back then – I hope I would, anyway.
Suffice to say by 40% I’d had enough, skipped to the end and confirmed yes, the person I thought had done it had indeed done it.
This comes under “The Way Ahead” section in Edwards’ book, which is designed to give a flavour of the period between the true Golden Age and the new breed of crime writers about to burst on the post-war scene – PD James, Julian Symons, etc. The mental illness aspects in this one could indeed have provided that kind of bridge, but I felt they were handled so superficially and badly that the book was a reflection of neither the plotting skills of the Golden Agers nor the greater psychological depth for which the later authors strove. Another one that I feel has been justifiably forgotten.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
August 15, 2021
"Chaos let loose in an asylum" would be the tabloid headline for this 1942 first outing by Nancy Boddington (1912-1998) who wrote 15 novels as Shelley Smith.
To explain. The novel features private investigator Jacob Chaos, and he is looking into the murder of the head of a hospital which deals with psychiatric patients.
The plot is fairly mundane, despite the background, and I certainly had it figured out well in advance of the classic denouement.
Chaos is an interesting character and I do not think I have come across a PI employed by Scotland Yard before.
A lot of the language here is very dated and not just that used in reference to the patients. When Chaos asks of the victim "Was he gay?", he is asking about heterosexual promiscuity, and not sexual orientation or a state of happiness.
I am sufficiently interested to pursue this author further as some of her later books have been favourably reviewed.
3.25 stars.
To explain. The novel features private investigator Jacob Chaos, and he is looking into the murder of the head of a hospital which deals with psychiatric patients.
The plot is fairly mundane, despite the background, and I certainly had it figured out well in advance of the classic denouement.
Chaos is an interesting character and I do not think I have come across a PI employed by Scotland Yard before.
A lot of the language here is very dated and not just that used in reference to the patients. When Chaos asks of the victim "Was he gay?", he is asking about heterosexual promiscuity, and not sexual orientation or a state of happiness.
I am sufficiently interested to pursue this author further as some of her later books have been favourably reviewed.
3.25 stars.
January 28, 2021
Guessed culprit very early and felt plot confused.
January 25, 2022
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
September 30, 2016
When Dr. Maurice Royd, the head of a psychiatric hospital, is found dead the police call in Jacob Chaos a Private Investigator to help as they are at a dead end.
I didn't find the plot particularly interesting, and the style of writing did become annoying at times.
A NetGalley Book
I didn't find the plot particularly interesting, and the style of writing did become annoying at times.
A NetGalley Book
November 25, 2016
Very well done
I enjoyed the book from beginning to end. The characters were well thought out and each had a personality that you would find in their setting. Thanks
I enjoyed the book from beginning to end. The characters were well thought out and each had a personality that you would find in their setting. Thanks
February 8, 2024
Average crime yarn which never reaches any great heights, which follows the tradition of giving the detective a daft name.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews