Keep It Quiet

by Richard Hull

It was just like Morrison to be a nuisance even when he was dead. Ford, the harried Secretary of the Whitehall Club, is desperate to please even the most disagreeable members just to be left in peace. So, it is a huge inconvenience for Ford when one of the club's most vexatious members is found possibly poisoned and most definitely dead. It will be terrible for the club's reputation and it seems easier for all if he finds a way to keep it quiet. Dr Anstruther is enlisted to help him cover up the death. He finds Ford irksome and ultimately useless but the Club means too much to him to see it dragged through a media frenzy. And besides, Anstruther was the victim's doctor: as far as he's concerned, Morrison may have even had a heart condition... But Cardonnel, the club lawyer (and stickler for protocol), is sniffing too close to the cover-up. And when Ford and Anstruther start receiving blackmailing notes, they begin acting very odd indeed. With so many eyes on them, will they really be able to keep it quiet?

Genres: Mystery, Crime

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Richard Henry Sampson FCA (6 September 1896 – 1973), known by the pseudonym Richard Hull, was a British writer who became successful as a crime novelist with his first book in 1934.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_...

Note: At least two other authors with the same name: Richard Hull-illustrator & Richard Hull-non-fiction

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was curious to know the extent to which Richard Hull’s style changed from the last book of his I read, so when Ipso Books via Crime Classics provided me with a review copy I willingly tried it out.

This time I would be happy with two and a half stars. In many ways this is in the genre of many Ealing comedies - and would make a better film than a book. The plot hinges on the pettiness generated at an English men’s club by the egos, power bids, eccentricities- and criminal propensities - of its members and the reliance of both staff and members on the appearance of respectability. We follow a number of events and mysteries, unsure of which are related, which are petty and which sinister. We assess whether characters are bumbling, lazy, paranoid or pathological killers.

Hull captures the hesitancy, insecurity, bluster , subtle and not so subtle power plays in a closed community. For the most part, however, I do not find that sufficient to hold my interest in a mystery. I can imagine finding it amusing in a screen comedy, but in crime fiction I find it interferes with the plot and puzzle.

Clever, but for me the wrong medium.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, clever and witty, this is the Hull I have most enjoyed. It takes pot shots at the world of men’s clubs, Holmesian deduction and the detective genre itself. The humour is light-handed and the writing is skilful, incorporating letters neatly into the plot.

There are deaths, intended and unintended, poisonings, blackmail and book thefts to delight the reader. The tone is just right, humorous but not overly jokey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ipso Books for the digital ARC.

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keep It Quiet is a witty British golden age mystery chock full of curmudgeons complaining about minor issues while members are being killed in their club’s easy chairs.

The chef at a London’s men’s club may have accidentally poisoned a member to death. The club’s secretary, Ford, wants to Keep It Quiet to avoid bad publicity. He enlists the help of a member, Dr. Anstruther, to put the cause of death as heart failure. Thus begins a comic farce of blackmail, threats and other crimes.

This book is hilarious! I enjoyed the hunt for the blackmailer. Despite guessing basically everyone in the book at various times, I still failed to guess correctly by the end.

Overall, highly recommended to armchair detectives and anyone looking for a droll golden age mystery. 4 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, Ipso now Agora Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keep It Quiet is a reissued 1935 Comedy of Manners set in a middling Gentlemen's Club in London. It nicely satirises the minutiae of club life and the fussy habits of its members and has a wry, world-weary, almost meandering style, which I quite liked for a change from, say, a dark, modern psychological thriller.

Although it is not a traditional whodunit, there is a villain to unmask and there are a few red herrings thrown in for who this might be. It is cleverly plotted but perhaps for me a little unevenly paced: it was a bit slow in the middle, some of the minutiae got a little too tedious or some of the meandering a little too long.

That said it develops well; there is a mid-book twist and a surprising ending as well as a couple of subplots that are tied up nicely by the end. It features a great cast of characters, my particular favourite being the indefatigable Cardonnel.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a gentle, light-hearted period piece that is a little different. Thank you to NetGalley and Agora Books for the ARC of Keep It Quiet.

[Franziska Self Fisken · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's set in a gentleman's club in Central London. The club is described well. The people and the setting evokes the thirties well: a calmer, settled lifestyle where people had very inflexible routines. The ending is captured well. However I felt this was very dull and unexciting and the plot unsatisfactory.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Deborah Cleaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This hit all the wrong notes.

[Anjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the best by the author that I have read. It is not the way the story is told or the humour hidden behind the voices but the content itself. The story revolves around a men's club. This is not something that would draw my attention on any average day, even though there is a lot of fodder for smaller plots. The bulk of the book takes up the running of a club in one form or the other. This seemed a little odd, to say the least!
There are a few annoying members of the club who are recognizable by sight or voice. Each of these people comes with their own brand of annoying features. One drops dead in the beginning and is suspected of having been poisoned (by mistake). Two men bond over that supposed secret until a third person sends an anonymous letter. This letter starts a chain of chaos that troubles almost everyone in the club, from the servers to the management.
There were some amusing moments, but on the whole, it did not total up to something that is comparable to the others I have read by the same author. It is probably not a good place to start for someone who has not read him before, but I am still glad I gave it a shot.
I did laugh aloud at certain scenes which overall felt like time well spent.

[Scilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book takes place in The Whitehall Club, a men's club in London. It's an amusing mystery with several changes in direction, and a satisfying end. An older member appears to have died in his chair in the library, discovered by Hughes, an employee, and is taken to a bedroom by Ford, the secretary of the club, Hughes, and a member, Dr. Anstruther. Ford is afraid that the cook had mixed up his topical poisonous medicine with the vanilla, and is happy when Anstruther calls it a heart attack. Then, Ford begins to get letters telling his to do things such as get new trays, change the dinner menu, and finally lay off Hughes or the writer will tell the police about the dead man and how he was killed with poison. Ford more or less follows his instructions except for Hughes. When another man dies, Ford becomes more anxious and the demands go on. Soon it is apparent that the letter writer is Anstruther. Another member begins detective work to find out about missing library books. Finally, everything comes to a head with an attempted murder of the detective member. All turns out well in the end.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating 2.5

Struggled a bit with this novel and certainly with the rating.
Enjoyed the writing style, the blackish humour, the dissection of the British class system as it is translated in the gentleman’s club milieu.
All of that is similar to and why I liked the authors other works I have read.
Where this one didn’t really hold my attention was in the main characters. The background characters such as the club chairman, other club members with their various idiosyncrasies and complaints about the club were all good and quite funny.
But none of the 3 main protagonists really engaged my interest and held it.
As with the authors other novels, and as other reviewers have said, this would make a very good tv show (limited episodes) - the whole club ambience, petty squabbles between members, an ineffectual club secretary etc would work very well if written true to the novel.

I did read this in a week when I was very busy at work and perhaps at another time it might have been better received but my mind drifted off too many times to give this a score of 3.

Would still recommend to other readers of RH novels as they might appreciate it more than I did.

[Kelvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, Richard Hull is like a Donald Westlake of the 1930s. He wrote mysteries in a style very different from other writers of the Golden Age. From that perspective it is a refreshing change. This 1935 book is set in the Whitehall Club, a British gentlemen's club in the 1930s. One member died in the club. Later another member did as well. What might have started out as a natural death then turned into a murder plot. The book has quite a bit of dark humor and is sometime funny. It also sheds like on the inner workings of a London club in the 1930s. I find Richard Hull to be a little bit like Donald Westlake of contemporary time. His style is a little bit like Westlake's Dortmunder series where incredible coincidences and funny situations are created to give comic effect.

[Gypsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this Golden Age crime story, a club member is found dead in the library, possibly accidently poisoned by the cook. The club secretary is appalled by what such an occurrence will do to the club's reputation, so persuades the dead man's physician (also a member) to make heart failure the cause on the death certificate. This simple cover-up creates a dangerous situation almost worse than a scandal.

Hull writes well, and this book is laugh-out-loud funny at times. However, as was the case with his debut novel (The Murder of My Aunt), he can't maintain an equal level of cleverness and sparkle, and there are parts that drag a bit. Despite that, it's blackly humorous plot makes for a fun read.

[Mbuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beauty of a Richard Hull mystery is that he lays it open to the reader. The murder is clear (or is it?) and the murderer makes himself known to the reader. The name isn't a mystery. The mystery lies more in how the characters handle a situation, and how the killer is finally brought to bay. As events move on, Hull's treatment is light, even funny as each attempt to unmask the main man is more desperate than the previous ones. However, it is at a price: except for one or two of the principal characters, who are clever line portraits, the rest are shadow puppets, moving jerkily along.

An absorbing Golden Age mystery, with equal parts of menace and humour.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first experience of Richard Hull's writing, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable introduction. Hull offers a darkly entertaining slice of comic crime, as Ford tries to cover up a death in the Whitehall Club - unsuccessfully, of course. The chain of events progresses through blackmail, book thefts, crossed wires and power plays. A great light read. My main frustration is I think Hull is unfair with the reader in one of the early chapters - although this only affects the twist in the middle of the book, and not the chaos that follows. I look forward to reading more by Richard Hull!

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Richard Hull book. After reading The Murder of My Aunt I knew I was ready for more of this author. Keep it Quiet was a good story and it had the typical Richard Hull dry, dark humor, which I so loved in The Murder of My Aunt. As per his other book the ending is a neat little surprise. That being said, the prose both written by Hull and spoken by the charactors was a tad too pompous for me to give it a full five star rating.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed reading this book but in small doses. It is quite detailed with lots of character thoughts being shared. Seems as though blackmail is the premise and that is quite well done. Who is the blackmailer??? I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys British stories. I received a copy from Crime Classics. Opinions are my own.

[Catherine Meza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful antique. If you've ever wanted to hang out at a London men's club during the golden age between the wars, this book delivers the ambiance. As for the mystery, the perpetrator is revealed a tad too soon for my liking and his punishment too much like one devised by Dorothy Sayers, also in a club. But overall, a treat nonetheless.

[Lorraine Petkus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humorous golden age crime classic. Taking place at Whitehall gentlemen's club composed of wodehousian gentlemen, who create numerous problems, a couple deaths, anonymous threatening letters and missing library books for a not to bright secretary. Fun read with a unique ending.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1935, this is a quintessential British cozy taking place among the Gentlemen's Clubs of the time. The writing was exquisite and the mystery was entertaining. i received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

[robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An atypical mystery where not only is the murderer identified halfway through, but the sleuth is not; just who the main actors are isn't clear til nearly the very end of the book.

This would make a good television dramatization. As a book, it's quirky and in the end entertaining.

[Judy Zell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since there are no female characters, I found this murder mystery less interesting than most. Also, the author was prone to run-on sentences. However, some parts are quite witty, and there are a couple of good plot twists.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this, a bit different from the usual detective fiction. We find out whodunnit about half way through.

[Christophe Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

My feelings and assessment are very similar to those conveyed in the review by Julia.

[Gu Kun · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave it 49 pages - in two sessions - two boring sessions.

[Calum Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

B: It's fairly obvious who the culprit is, and the ending is a little silly, but this is so wonderfully written. The crossed wires of detection has such a hilarious quality, and the hopelessness of the central protagonist became strangely endearing.

[Hugh Dunnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second Richard Hull book I have read in the last few months and as much as I love the ‘golden age’ style, Mr Hull just doesn’t really seem do it for me, well certainly not as much as some other authors of the same era.

As I think I said in a previous review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..., there is certainly an inventiveness to Richard Hull’s stories and for that I have to give him credit but invention is just not enough to carry me along. This is not a long book but its continual knowing remarks and jokes started to grate with me quite quickly and I began to get bogged down around a third of the way through. I persevered to around the halfway mark and it was here that the murderer was revealed. We are used to ‘reveals’ either at the start of a story where we see the crimes through the eyes of the perpetrator or more usually at the end of the story so we are kept guessing to throughout. So although the style of writing didn’t change, it is this quirk of revealing the murder half way into the book that makes the story interesting, as the murderer now begins in effect to tell his parts of the story and we then see causes and effects from a different perspective.
Further to this, and without giving anything away, after the perpetual jokes finally subside, we are presented with a really very dark ending; really not what I was expecting at all. Again another example of what appears to set this author apart from the usual ‘Golden Age’ novelists and another reason to continue to the book’s conclusion.

All in all, Keep it Quiet it was okay; although a bit of a slog at times it was short enough that the end was almost always in sight. Had it been any longer that may have been different story…

[jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ford, the secretary of the Whitehall Club in London, is the most amiable and spineless of men, prone to agreeing with all and resigned to the daily complaints and scoldings he endures from the club members. But things get much worse after Morrison, one of the most annoying members, is found dead after his dinner, and the chef confesses that he may have accidentally slipped some poison into the man's meal. Ford begins receiving letters and it's clear that someone knows about the murder other than himself and the club doctor who went along with the cover-up.

This mystery is set in the thirties London of upper class society in a world of older men. I had read Hull's previous book, The Murder of My Aunt and loved it as it's a hilarious story of an ineffective and skittish young man attempting to find a way to kill his over-bearing aunt without actually touching her. Keep It Quiet doesn't have the same amount of humor, it's more about getting on with the murder, and then the confession, but it does have funny lines, such as the doctor being so disgusted with the secretary's weight that he can hardly keep from slapping the back of the man's fat neck. A good, gentlemanly read. 3.5 stars

[Jeff Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever take on the murder mystery genre. Set in the Whitehall Club, secretary Ford is blackmailed by Dr Anstruther after he covers up a murder for the sake of the members. Anstruther is petty and force Ford to do his bidding to make the club more suitable for himself. A real page turner as Ford's become more and more trapped by Anstruther grasp.

[Estott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light bit of crime fiction- the actual crime content is VERY light, more of a witty study in personality.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murder mystery set in an all men's club in London, with all the atmosphere that that implies, i.e., "keep it quiet".