Murder Every Monday

The Asterisk Club #2

by Pamela Branch, Tom Schantz (Introduction), Enid Schantz (Introduction)

Clifford Flush had not murdered anybody for years. When, horrified, he felt the urge to kill his bridge partner—the man’s bidding was really quite unforgivable—he was blackmailed into leaving London. He and his fellow Asterisk Club members, all of whom had been wrongfully acquitted of at least one murder, established themselves as professional homicide consultants in the ugliest manor house in Dorset. After all, if they could commit the perfect murder why not share that knowledge with the world—for a handsome fee? Flush conducts classes on Grips, Knots, Electricity, Court Etiquette and Alibis. Mrs. Barratt teaches Anatomy and Forensic Medicine. Colonel Quincey specializes in Automobiles and Firearms. The Creaker—well, perhaps it’s best not to describe what the Creaker teaches. There was even a scantily clad blonde on the staff whom no one—save her late fiancé—believed capable of murder. Everything was going just fine until a member of the twenty-sixth class has the effrontery to get himself murdered on the premises.

Genres: Mystery, Humor, Crime

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

An author of comic-mysteries remembered for her wicked sense of humor, Pamela Byatt was born in 1920 on a tea estate in Ceylon, and was educated in England & France; studying art and theater. In England, Pamela married Newton Branch. They traveled extensively, living in places such as Cyprus and Ireland; and, amongst other jobs, both tried writing. The Branches divorced in the late 1950s. In 1962, she married James Edward Stuart-Lyon. Around this time, she was rumored to have been working on a fifth book, but no one knows what became of it. Pamela Branch died of cancer in 1967. http://www.ruemorguepress.com/authors...

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another bit of black humor from Branch, and unfortunately the last of her novels that I'll have the chance to read. Clifford Flush and the members of the Asterisk Club (all unjustly acquited of murder) take a decrepit pile in the country and teach the eager how to clear up their problems. Mostly it's domestics, of course; but Bill Thurlow, for one, has a vendetta on his hapless hands. The hot summer weather depresses Flush, which means that everything gets a bit weird, especially since the current class includes two American gangsters in for a brush-up, each eager to dispose of the other.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a funny spoof crime novel. Clifford Flush and his acquitted-killer cronies from the Asterisk Club set up a school for murderers in a dank old house buried in the country. It's the kind of book that would have made a perfect Ealing comedy. I just wish Pamela Branch had lived long enough to write more than four books.

The humour is in the details and the little throwaway remarks, and I see from the reviews that it's not to everyone's taste. For example, each client comes to the murdering course with a potential victim in mind, but Flush doesn't refer to this person as the victim, but the Intended. To find that funny, you have to know that "your intended" meant "your fiancé(é)" in the speech of Britons of a certain class and era.

So there are many little moments like that, which had me laughing out loud, but might not tickle someone else at all.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

For something so old, I found this refreshingly funny. It’s an interesting take on the “murder in an English country house” genre, more satirical than a parody. What happens when an actual murder happens at a school run by acquitted (but guilty) murderers for wannabe murderers? Shenanigans, that’s what! It’s all a bit ridiculous and I genuinely did not guess “whodunnit”, but it all made perfect sense by the end.
It’s definitely dated and has not aged well, lots of casual racism and stereotypes laid on thickly. I don’t expect much from pulp detective novels of this vintage, if it wasn’t for that ick factor I’d rate it higher.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clifford Flush is a founding member of the Asterisk Club--a club specifically for people who have been wrongfully acquitted of at least one murder. That's right: sedate little Mrs. Barratt has disposed of two husbands; Colonel Quincey is an expert "hunter;" The Creaker has done such horrible deeds that even his fellow club members won't let him "talk shop;" Miss Dina Parrish, club secretary, managed to lose her fiance off the edge of a cliff; and Clifford himself was once known as the Balliol Butcher. They have all managed to curb their murderous inclinations for quite some time...that is until Clifford finds himself giving into the urge to try and shove his bridge partner Armitage under a bus. He's unsuccessful (for the first time in his life) and Armitage blackmails him into leaving London.

After discussing the situation with his fellow club members, they all decide to head to the country and start a school for prospective murderers. For quite some time their pupils are are well-behaved little assassins and pass their courses (Grips, Knots, Electricity, Court Etiquette, Alibis, etc) with flying colors--going out into the world to rid themselves of various annoying family members, business associates, and what-have-you.

Until the latest crop of would-be-murderers come along. And someone has the effrontery to work ahead of schedule and commit a murder on the school premises before the diplomas are handed out. Flush had a feeling that this particular group was going to be troublesome from the moment they arrived and the beastly heat didn't do anything to improve the atmosphere. Will they be able to solve their own home-grown murder without the cops getting wise?

Murder Every Monday (1954) by Pamela Branch was a disappointing read. The blurb on the back promised much more than the book delivered: "Original plots like this are why Carolyn Hart called Branch's humor 'incomparable' and why Dean James of Houston's Murder by the Book described Branch's book as 'British farce at its best.'" I've heard that Branch's earlier books are better--I certainly hope so because this one just didn't do much for me. If "incomparable humor" means that all of the characters speak in apparent non sequiturs, then, yeah, Branch has that covered. If it also means that there's a lot of scenes with one of the female pupils screeching at her supposed lover, then, yeah, we've got that too.

But, honestly, I have a preference for British mysteries and British humor and I just can't say that I found this funny at all. the premise was interesting (and would be the main reason I picked this reprint up),--after all a murderous school for scoundrels sounded like a nifty idea and some of the descriptions at the beginning did make me think that this might be a funny book. But it didn't deliver. I actually finished this book three days ago and I honestly couldn't tell you many details about it. I've got my bottom line reaction and that's it. [I guess I better start taking more notes as I read....] ★ and a half (rounded up here)--all for premise, setting, and situation. Oh...and for one character--Paget, the butler, who isn't all that keen on his employers' occupation.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Laura Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars Meh. This is funny in places, but it is the Branch novel I enjoyed the least. In The Wooden Overcoat, the "professional" criminals of the Asterisk Club had the perfect foil in their "amateur" neighbors. The antics of the two groups -sometimes aiding, sometimes spoiling each other's plans- were side-splittingly hilarious. In this spin-off, the Asterisks teach the fine art of murder. To me, the students were not as likeable, interesting, or funny as the bohemian neighbors.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder Every Monday is another one of Pamela Branch's offbeat, well written mysteries. A group of murderers who got away with murder are resolutely retired from crime but start a rigidly-run school for murder. The current batch of students, they find, are highly unsatisfactory.

[dmayr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virtually no plot but a lot of eccentric characters. Very funny book!