Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our May 25 group read of One by One They Disappeared by Moray Dalton #1 in the Hugh Collier series, published in 1929.

Katherine Dalton Renoir ('Moray Dalton') was born in Hammersmith, London in 1881, the only child of a Canadian father and English mother. The author wrote two well-received early novels, Olive in Italy (1909), and The Sword of Love (1920). However, her career in crime fiction did not begin until 1924, after which Moray Dalton published twenty-nine mysteries, the last in 1951. The majority of these feature her recurring sleuths, Scotland Yard inspector Hugh Collier and private inquiry agent Hermann Glide. Moray Dalton married Louis Jean Renoir in 1921, and the couple had a son a year later. The author lived on the south coast of England for the majority of her life following the marriage. She died in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1963.

In the first in her mystery series, we are introduced to Hugh Collier.
“I want to catch them. To do that we’ve got to lead them on. Now listen to me.”

Elbert J. Pakenham of New York City is among just nine survivors of the sinking of the Coptic – not counting his black cat Jehosaphat. The benevolent Mr. Pakenham has made his fellow survivors joint beneficiaries in his will, his nephew having recently passed away. But it seems that someone is unwilling to share the fortune, as the heirs start to die under mysterious circumstances . . .

Then Mr. Pakenham himself disappears, and Inspector Collier of Scotland Yard suspects dirty work. When a trap is laid that seriously wounds his best friend at the Yard, Superintendent Trask, Collier is certain his suspicions are correct. Into his net are drawn a charming young woman, Corinna Lacy, and her cousin and trustee, Wilfred Stark; a landed gentleman of dubious reputation, Gilbert Freyne, and his sister-in-law, Gladys; an Italian nobleman of ancient lineage and depleted estate, Count Olivieri; and a Bohemian English artist, Edgar Mallory. But Collier will need some unexpected feline assistance before the case is solved.

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

I don't know whether I remembered this, but I guessed the murderer from the start this time.

Yes, it felt like a first-time outing; entertaining, but some bits were sensational (fitting with the period, as we’ve seen in other mysteries from the time), and some bits rather obvious. Entertaining, though!

Since this is the spoiler thread, I must ask my fellow readers - did anyone see why poor Jehosaphat was rewarded for his brave rescue of the maiden in distress by being shot?! That upset me and seemed pointless. I looked back at the previous pages and couldn’t find an excuse-and the old man asks if he can have his poor old pal’s body to bury - I’d be pissed and sue!

Susan in NC wrote: "Yes, it felt like a first-time outing; entertaining, but some bits were sensational (fitting with the period, as we’ve seen in other mysteries from the time), and some bits rather obvious. Entertai..."

I too saw no reason for the death of the cat. It came completely out of the blue.

Ellen wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Yes, it felt like a first-time outing; entertaining, but some bits were sensational (fitting with the period, as we’ve seen in other mysteries from the time), and some bits rath..."

Thank you, seemed like that to me - I was all set for the cat to be reunited with his beloved master (if you can call a cat owner that!), and enjoying a lovely scene, then he casually asks for the cat’s body - WTH?!

Yes, that was very upsetting and does seem completely unnecessary.

I suppose it was realistic and demonstrated the cat's bravery. I think earlier generations were more stoic. They'd been through two wars, I don't think they were very emotional about animals. My mother told me that, during WWII, most people in London put their pets down as the bombing upset them too much and they couldn't feed them with strict rationing.

Susan wrote: "I don't know whether I remembered this, but I guessed the murderer from the start this time."

Same here. I think it is probably quite obvious, as there aren't many suspects and it's never likely to be gorgeous Gilbert, but I wasn't sure if I was remembering it. The plot is a bit like the early Patricia Wentworth thrillers, isn't it?

I was also sad about the cat, but I'd definitely remembered that from my first read, when it came as a nasty shock, so I knew it was coming.

I like Mr Pakenham - in some ways he's a better detective than Collier in this book. He sees through people quickly and is very resourceful, just a shame he came up with the tontine in the first place! I'm wondering if this was the first detective story to feature a tontine.

Some contemporary reviews of the book here - some of the original reviewers did love giving nearly the whole plot away!

https://grandestgame.wordpress.com/li...

I was also upset about the cat. So unnecessary.

This was a reread and I remembered the cousin was the bad guy. Was he actually her cousin or had he killed him for control of the property at some point? He used a variety of names but must have kept his real name for trustee if he was her cousin.

Collier is going to have to improve his detecting skills without the American's help.

Looking at the cover - who is the girl on the phone? Our heroine has brown hair and didn't do a lot of calling.

Sandy wrote: "I was also upset about the cat. So unnecessary.

This was a reread and I remembered the cousin was the bad guy. Was he actually her cousin or had he killed him for control of the property at some p..."

That’s what I thought! At first I wondered if the author was toying with making the elderly American her detective - his constant companion, the black cat, could’ve been his signature, like Asta the terrier in The Thin Man movies. He seemed to do all the detecting!

Susan wrote: "I suppose it was realistic and demonstrated the cat's bravery. I think earlier generations were more stoic. They'd been through two wars, I don't think they were very emotional about animals. My mo..."

Oh, dear, that’s heartbreaking! But I suppose you’re right…my dog freaks out in a thunderstorm, imagine nightly air raids!

Good question about whether he was actually Corinna's cousin, Sandy - I wondered if we would have a reveal that he was actually an imposter, especially as she had never met him before.

It's also mentioned that he uses aliases but it seems as if he is really her cousin, which seems odd. He certainly doesn't seem to have bothered to take much care of her two houses!

Also, good point about the cover, which does seem a bit of a random image, although it looks quite nice!

Judy wrote: "Good question about whether he was actually Corinna's cousin, Sandy - I wondered if we would have a reveal that he was actually an imposter, especially as she had never met him before.

It's also m..."

He had his own use for her houses; not to his advantage if they were desirable properties.

I too was upset about the cat and didn't understand why he was shot. At one point, Collier mentions that Jehoshaphat was rubbing on the policemen who were at the house, so there was no reason to think he was rabid or vicious. As someone above said, I would have sued!

At first, I too wasn't sure if he was actually her cousin or not, but I concluded that he was actually her cousin and had been using the alias "Dr. Ramsey" in his earlier criminal enterprise.

I agree that it was a bit predictable, but I felt like it was balanced out by how short it was. It didn't give you a lot of time to think about the mystery. I would have liked Collier to have a bit more personality. I think that contributed to him being overshadowed by Mr. Pakenham.

I think Jehoshaphat's death would have made more sense to readers at the time. There was a vaccine to treat rabbies in humans, but the vaccine could often be deadly. I was initially very excited that he had gotten revenge for Freyne's dogs and very sad that he was killed, but I guess that people had to be a lot more careful back then.

Judy wrote: "Susan wrote: "I don't know whether I remembered this, but I guessed the murderer from the start this time."

Same here. I think it is probably quite obvious, as there aren't many suspects and it's ..."

Was it before 4:50 from Paddington? There was a tontine in that book. I don't recall any others.

Judy wrote: "Good question about whether he was actually Corinna's cousin, Sandy - I wondered if we would have a reveal that he was actually an imposter, especially as she had never met him before.

It's also m..."

I didn't re-read it. But I had the impression he just said he was. She wouldn't know.